


Imperfect Pictures

by Jeska



Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Actors, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Australia, Continual story, Erotica, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Mush, Fluff and Smut, Fluffy, Hollywood, LGBTQ Themes, Los Angeles, Love, Millionaire, Multi, New York City, Romance, Sex, Sexual Fantasy, Sexy, Slow Burn, Smut, Soap Opera, Telenovela, non Canon, photographer, serial, twilight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-11-27 13:45:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 104,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18195365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeska/pseuds/Jeska
Summary: Life has not always been good to Bella Swan. Born mixed race in the deep south, orphaned as a child, and made a widow at a young age, she uses her photography not only as a way to make money but as a way to grow and heal after serious trauma. Luckily she has wonderful friends by her side to help her, too. She's not unhappy, but she's barely scraping by.Everything changes though when she's offered a job taking pictures of up and coming Australian actor, Edward Cullen, for a full week.Eddie seems almost picture perfect. Kind, handsome, intelligent, rich. But, we are always more than what we appear in a snapshot.





	1. Chapter One

Sorry for the long a/n in advance.

Hey everyone, so this is a little different. 

Here’s the deal. This is not a novel or a short story. This is a serial. It’s going to be more like a television soap opera. I want it to feel like an episodic view into their daily lives. I plan to update 3 times a week. It’s not got a solid ending point yet. You’ll learn details of them and their personalities slowly. You’ll watch the tension build.

Basically, this is the story idea that brought me back into writing. This is my practice to get back to it after almost five years of writing nothing at all. I hope to develop these characters and create a rich world for them to go do all the fun things I’m not going to be able to do in real life. This story will not be perfect. This story won’t be too realistic. I just really like the characters and I hope you do too. This is what I write for fun. 

This is an alternative universe and OOC. Some nationalities and details of the characters have been changed. (For example, I’m changing their birthdays for storytelling purposes.) Also, there will be some OC characters. (You’ll see)

Warnings: this story will eventually involve LGBTQ+ themes, drug use, polyamory, graphic sexual scenes, themes of racism, mental illness, homophobia, mentions of sexual assault and murder. I will try my best to put trigger warnings whenever possible. If there is something you think needs to have a warning but doesn’t, please let me know so I can add it. I want to make this enjoyable for everyone.

Yes, there will be some angst but a lot more fluff and smut overall. Lots of fun. 

Oh, and it’s Bella’s POV. I do have stuff written from his POV. Please let me know if you’re interested in seeing that. 

And, as always… I am a human. I am trying my best. If you see mistakes or typos, please let me know nicely, precisely, or not at all. I’m doing this all by myself. I may be prolific but I’m not very good at this. I am willing to fix any mistakes. Your kindness is appreciated in advance.

Anyway, enjoy!

 

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Chapter one-

 

There was a heat wave hitting New York City. Despite it being a week away from fall temperatures were reaching just over ninety degrees. And New Yorkers were not handling it well. Every window was opened in Jessica's poorly air conditioned office. The building was old and it seemed to be a problem for anyone who wasn't the owner or editor of the magazine, which was housed inside. Vaudevillian Magazine had been in the building since the early 1920s though and they weren't about to change anything now. There were four different fans going in all directions at full blast, Jessica's desk littered with all manner of paperweights. Outside there had been a minor car accident which was causing a traffic jam. Every New Yorker in a car within a mile was laying on their horn like it was their job. There was also shouting in several languages. 

Ah, Manhattan. 

I waited in the office patiently for Jessica to arrive. She was an extremely busy woman, or at least it appeared that way whenever I had personally seen her. I had worked with the magazine a dozen different times and I always got my work assignments from her. She was the assistant director of the photography department, her and her boss selecting and arranging all the pictures in the magazine. It wasn't the only magazine I worked for on occasion but I had worked with them the most. But mostly I was taking pictures of lipstick or high heels. Which was fine, I was good at it. It was easy. And it was quick. It was hard to break into the business, especially when it was dying.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!” Jessica came bursting in with a bunch of folders in her hand. She was wearing a short skirt in blue and a cream colored silky sleeveless top. Sadly it was sweat-stained basically everywhere and sticking to her body. Her mousy brown hair was pulled up into a very slicked back bun with loads of hairspray. The sweat was beginning to make it frazzle at the edges though.

“Not a problem. Do you need some help with those?” I offered. 

She looked as if she was going to say no but I stood just as half began to slide towards the floor. I caught the folders easily and put them on her desk neatly. They were already starting to get things ready for their big Christmas year in review magazine, according to the files. “Thanks. Can I get you anything? Water?”

“No, I'm good.”

“Okay. So, I've got a job for you.” She put the rest of the folders onto the desk before going to get something from the file cabinet. Her heels clicked loudly against the linoleum. 

“Excellent,” I replied, wondering if it was going to be something Christmas related. That would be fun.

“It's different from what you've done before for us though,” she explained, letting the air from the fan on the cabinet hit her face for several moments. Her makeup was beginning to literally melt off in beads. There was no amount of setting spray for this humidity.

“How so?” I asked.

“We'd like you to go to Los Angeles and follow someone around for a week. It's for our 'week in the life of'' photo series. Have you seen it?” Jessica asked as she sat down behind her desk. “We do it a few times a year usually for our big issues.”

I was stunned for a moment. “Yeah. I have seen it. They follow them around twenty-four hours a day basically to get intimate pictures of their day to day lives... right? Wow. Um... I'm flattered, but can I ask, why me? I'm not saying no. Just... curious?”

She was in the middle of a long drink of water so she held a single perfect finger up. She dabbed her face with a tissue after, getting the droplets that had slid down her chin. “He asked for you actually.”

“Talk about the pronoun game, Jess. He who? Mr. Jenks?” I asked a little impatiently, referring to her boss. I had only met him once in passing. He had barely looked at me, but he was a busy man.

“No, the celebrity you'll be following.”

“What?” I sat back in shock in the vinyl plastic chair. It squeaked. 

Jessica looked through a file while she was talking. “He's very particular about who he does interviews with and how. Very particular. He's all about controlling his image himself. He asked to look at all the photographers we had working for us and he chose you.”

“Are you sure?” I was totally confused. What did they even show him? Lip gloss? A bowl of popcorn I took a picture of once? 

“He was very insistent on it when I spoke to his manager,” she explained to me. “He said you were the only one he liked so he'd only do the spread if it was you. So, here we are.”

“That's crazy,” I laughed, feeling half mad myself. I brought the tip of my finger up to chew before I realized what I was doing and quickly put it down. “Who is it?”

“Eddie Cullen.”

The name faintly rang a bell. Maybe. Kind of? I wasn't sure. I sighed and tried to think of how I knew him. Nothing came to me and my brain was Swiss cheese anyway when it came to people, names, and faces. “I don't know. I'm old. Who is he?”

“He is an Australian actor who is on the fast track there in Hollywood. He started on YouTube of all places. Now he's been in half a dozen billion-dollar video games and in several animated award-winning movies and television shows for his voice acting alone. Last year he won a Grammy and he recently signed a multi-million dollar contract with Disney.”

I couldn't imagine his face. “What did he win a Grammy for? Is he a singer, too?”

“I don't think so. It was for a reading of an audiobook. It was some young adult thing I hadn't read before. I don't remember the name of it right now.” She rearranged a couple of folders on her desk. Jessica looked for something but gave up after a moment, shaking her head. “Not important right now.”

“So, is he mainly a voice actor then?”

“Last year he starred in his first major live-action role and he was overall praised for his performance. Got like an eighty-nine on Rotten Tomatoes. He has several projects coming out over the next few months. The crazy thing is that he's still doing his YouTube videos.”

“I'm surprised he has the time,” I commented. “He must be very into himself.”

Jessica pulled out her phone and brought up a video. She reached over her desk so I could see the screen up close. “This is his most viewed video. Check out the view count.”

It had five hundred million views. I had seen the video as well on Facebook or something like that. That's where I had known his face and name from, I guessed. I thought he was a part of Buzzfeed or something, to be honest. I never paid any attention. It was just something to watch to on the train.

But, damn. Not even if I took a million pictures would I get one hundred million views on all of my work combined. I couldn't imagine the ad revenue he was pulling in. That's why he had time to make them. He made the damn time.

“So, are you interested?”

I didn't even have to think about it for a hot second. “Yes. How does this work though? Money wise.”

Jessica beamed because I said yes so quickly. “So, this a time plus space contract. You will get a flat rate per day, plus we pay for your travel costs. Then we pay you per page your pictures are featured.”

“How much?”

“Five hundred per shooting day, plus two hundred on your two travel days. We also give you a hundred per day for food and expenses in cash, so you can keep what you don't spend. Mr. Cullen has offered lodging at his home if you're comfortable with that. If not we can arrange a close hotel but I don't think it'll be as nice. Plus you'll have to pay for your taxi or rental car.”

“I don't mind staying at his place,” I answered, a little star struck by the amount of money she just said. I needed all the money I could get at the moment. I was barely scraping by.

“Great. So, it's our standard five hundred per page, like usual. Oh, and if they use your photo on the cover it's a one fifteen hundred bonus. The spread is usually between seven and twelve pages if we decide to use your pictures. We decide that after we get your edits, of course,” she explained quickly. I wonder how often she had to explain such things.

“So, even if you don't use my pictures I get almost four thousand dollars for a week's worth of work?” I asked quietly. “And I get to go LA on your dime?”

“Um...Yeah, basically.”

“Sign me up, boss,” I smiled so widely that I felt as if my face was going to crack open. 

“Fantastic. It's going to be in the middle of October. Sorry for such short notice on that, by the way. We had some negotiation issues with his people. I've got all the paperwork for you all ready though. I'll need you to come in sometime the week before you fly out to come to pick up your tickets and cash for the trip. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all,” I said hollowly, too overwhelmed. 

“Great,” Jessica smiled again. “I'm really glad he picked you, Bella. I really enjoy working with you and I hope this leads to more big projects with you soon. I had to talk Mr. Jenks into letting me offer it to you.”

I looked up at her, surprised. She was such a kind woman. “Thank you so much for sticking your neck out for me. When I get paid I am definitely going to go buy you a drink and a full priced appetizer somewhere.”

Jessica giggled warmly, “I look forward to it!” I liked her. We were on the edge of being work friends to being in real life friends. 

Thankfully the wrecked cars were gone when I finally got out of the office. I quickly pulled out my phone and did something I normally never did. I placed a call instead of writing a text message.

“Hello?” Alice answered on the second ring, instantly sounding concerned. She hated the phone as much as I did. It had probably been a year since we had called each other for any reason.

“Alice!” I yelled into the phone.”I got an insane job offer. You're not going to fucking believe it. Holy shit, I'm so jazzed right now.”

“Oh, my god. What?” She instantly sounded excited for me. She was always the best person to tell the good news to. She was so good at being happy for others. Most people didn't realize it was a skill you could have, it seemed. 

“I'm flying to LA to stay at an actor's house to take pictures of him for a week. And I'm getting around four thousand for it. Four fucking thousand. In Hollywood, baby!”

“Holy shit, Bells! That's amazing!”

“And that's not even if they buy my pictures after, either. I could sell them another four thousand in pictures, conservatively. It's possible I could sell them up to twelve full pages for five hundred a pop. And there is the possibility of a cover photo and that's a fifteen hundred dollar bonus on top of everything else. I'm not going to think about that though. I can't count on it. But, can you imagine? Oh, Al. I'm so excited!”

“That's so great! You're going to get so ahead on your bills.”

“We need to celebrate tonight,” I told her.

“Well, no shit! Of course, we do! Who's the actor, by the way?” She asked as my bus came. I had borrowed her all you can ride MetroCard to get here. She had taken an Uber instead of dealing with the heat and smelly people on the subway.

“Uh...” I dew out as I tried to remember his name exactly. I was too keyed up. “Some guy called Eddie Cullen. He's young and from YouTube.”

“I don't know him,” Alice said instantly.

“I know you don't. You don't know anyone though.” I shook my head, sitting down by one of the poles so I could hang onto it. The bus was pretty much empty. “He does a lot of different stuff. Food videos. Video game stuff. He does life experience stuff, apparently, as well. I don't know. You've probably seen him and not known it. As I said, he is a YouTube person.”

“Why don't we order food tonight and watch his shit?” Alice asked cheerfully.

“Sounds like a plan.”

It was eight in the evening when Al finally got out of the office for the night. I was already in my pajamas, waiting for her on my couch. I had been working for a few hours on finishing up edits for an event I had done the day before. It was a gender reveal party for some hipster parents in Williamsburg. They seemed nice enough. It was a boy and the father ugly cried. It was fun. I didn't have much of anything else planned for events for the rest of the year though. It had me worried before my meeting with Jessica.

“I come bearing gifts.” She showed me the six-pack of hard cider she had picked up at the bodega at the corner of our building. Alice brought me an opened one with a greeting kiss on the forehead before putting the rest in the fridge. She returned to my room, more comfortably dressed, with her own drink of red wine mixed with ice cold coke. “I asked a bunch of kids at the office if they knew the guy and they did.”

“Do they like him?” I questioned. 

She was thoughtful for a moment. “They say he's funny. But that he is pretty tame? Like, he's a normal person you could show your cool aunt like me,” she leaned her head on my shoulder and took over control of my mouse so she could go to one of a half dozen food ordering sites we used on the regular. “Their words, not mine. Someone called him white bread.”

“I hope he's normal,” I muttered. “I'm staying in his house.”

“I miss couch surfing,” she mumbled, thinking about her time in Europe in her twenties. Staying with strangers always scared her less than it scared me. 

We ordered from our favorite diner. She got her normal breakfast foods. Waffles with bananas, Nutella, and strawberries with a side of country ham and a coffee to drink despite it being so late in the evening. I ordered a chop steak with mashed potatoes. It came with green beans, a salad, and a roll. It was enough for two people. So, of course, I always ate it all.

When we were done ordering Alice brought up YouTube. I typed in his name and it brought up his page before I could type Cullen. He had twenty million subscribers and counting. All of his videos combined had literally billions of views. Eddie had hundreds of videos too, going back a half a decade or more. In the first videos, he practically looked like a child and still had a kind of squeaky baby voice and a very chubby face. Even all of those had at least a million views.

In his most recent videos, he had clearly grown into a very tall and well-built man. He had a head full of thick very well groomed dark reddish brown hair and a glass-sharp jaw and nose. He had a very nice profile. It also looked like he had maybe never seen the sun, despite video evidence otherwise. There were several videos of him surfing. Either he bathed daily in sunscreen or he was exceptionally pale.

We watched two solid hours of food videos with him taste testing and going to restaurants before we switched to him trying on terrible Halloween costumes with friends. We watched all of those. Like fifteen of them, in some embarrassing form or fashion. Then we switched to his video game playlist. It was three in the morning when Alice fell asleep on the couch, but I continued to watch until I began to nod off too a couple of hours later. 

That night I had one of my nightmares where I lost my camera in some horrible crazy way that would never happen. This particular one woke me up gasping and grasping at my sheets wildly. I had them a couple of times a week but they always bothered me. 

Over the next three weeks, I watched as many of his videos as I could stand and watched all of his movie roles. There were now four of those in total, but a couple was only brief cameos. I watched a few of his television shows as well. The ones on Netflix, anyway. I even listened to the audiobook he won a Grammy for, 'The Immortal Dusk.' It was a teen vampire novel. It was, not surprisingly, better than I expected. In general, I enjoyed his work and could see why he was on the rise. His voice was amazing. He could do so many weird things with it, and accents too. But when he was just speaking normally it was very soothing. It was very rich and deep. 

As time ticked closer to the day my stomach twisted in knots and I had a nightmare every day for a week leading up to the job. I tried to keep my mind busy with the work I had but it didn't seem to help. I didn't sleep at all the night before my flight on that Sunday. I simply laid across my couch in the darkness, staring off towards the Manhattan skyline like I had done a thousand nights before when I couldn't sleep. That was better than having the nightmare again, at least.

I drank an entire pot of coffee before I even left for the airport. 

\------------------------

So, There is the first chapter! In the next chapter, you get to meet Edward in person :D 

If you enjoyed this please let me know! 

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter two- 

 

It was going to take almost eight hours to get to LA from New York. I was flying out of Laguardia into LAX with a layover in Houston. It was the first time in a couple of years stepping foot into Texas. It was only for an hour and a half though. It was just long enough to get Whataburger from the restaurant in my terminal. I got a barbecue bacon patty melt with a large onion rings. Sadly, they didn't have milkshakes in the airport restaurants for some cruel reason so I settled for a sweet tea and a cinnamon roll to substitute the sugar I was missing. I saved them for the plane ride. 

I tried to feel a connection to my old home. It had been so long since I had lived there. Was there a yearning to go back to what once was? No. Especially not after I watched a big-haired loud airport employee yell at an Indian couple that she didn't speak Spanish. The couple spoke perfect English with an English accent. 

They did have good sweet tea in Texas though. 

It was hard not to feel anxious about what I was about to do. I tried to relax on the plane while listening to a book but my mind wandered away in despair. What if it went horribly? What if he was terrible? Gnawing, my worry ate at my chest until it gave me heartburn. I chewed my thumbnail and thumb aggressively through the flight. I didn't bite my nails off though, I had finally beaten that terrible habit. Mostly. Well, kind of. Most of the time I was better at it. At least it was just my right thumb now.

I gave the address to the taxi driver once I had finally arrived in Los Angeles and he commented on it being a nice part of town. I'd imagine Burbank would be since it was so close to the studios. It seemed completely gentrified. The stars didn't want to drive far for work if they could help it so they generally got what they wanted. The driver tried to chat with me but I wasn't in the mood and gave only the shortest of answers. 

“What are you here for?” The older man with white hair asked. He had a big name tag on the back of the seat that said, “Marty.”

“Work,” I replied quietly. 

He beamed at me, “are you an actress or a model?”

I could feel the heat crawl up my neck, “no. A photographer actually.”

“Are you here to take a celebrity's picture?” He didn't stop.

“Eddie Cullen.” It wasn't as if I was sworn to secrecy or anything. It didn't seem like it. No one told me I couldn't talk about it but it wasn't like I was putting it on blast on social media. 

The man shook his head. “I haven't heard of him. What does he do?”

“He's a voice actor mainly.”

“No wonder I don't know who he is,” the man said, his voice dripping with boredom. Thankfully he didn't speak anymore after that. 

The area was gated with a guard who already knew I was coming. My name was on a list and I was given a temporary guest code to get in. The houses varied wildly, some more ornate than others but they were all clearly expensive homes. Each had their own high walls and gates.

The home we pulled up to was smaller, a one-story ranch style home with a white brick exterior. It had probably been built in the eighties but it had been remodeled since then. The wall around it was painted white to match. The gate was open, just waiting for us to come inside. 

The driver got out to get my suitcase from the trunk for me. I only had that and a backpack so I declined further help to the door. Neither were heavy and I could manage them on my own. I thanked him quietly. I followed the concrete path to the shiny black door and rung the doorbell. I was literally shaking.

The door opened before my finger was even off the button. I took a half step back in surprise, my hand drawing back quickly. 

“Hello! Hi! Come in!” He said extremely cheerfully as he ushered me inside the foyer to his very nice home. Mr. Cullen was dressed very comfortably in a pair of basketball shorts and a baggy tee shirt. He almost looked like he had just rolled out of bed, to be honest. He had neither showered recently or shaved. He looked so very much younger than I expected. 

“Hi. Um, I'm Bella,” I said as I followed behind him.”From Vaudevillian Magazine.”

“Yes! I've been expecting you. I'm so excited to meet you,” he said in his cute posh Australian accent. He was so much taller than I had expected him to be. And more muscular than his videos portrayed. He seemed downright baby-faced and chubby in some of them but now his muscles stretched at his sleeves. “I'm Edward. Of course, you know that. You can call me Edward or Eddie, though,” He spoke very quickly. “I don't mind either. Here, let me take that,” he took the suitcase from my grip before I could say anything to him. “I'll show you where you'll be staying real quick and we can put this away. Then I was just going to order dinner if you're hungry.”

My cinnamon roll was gone. “Great. Yeah. I am. I could use a restroom, as well,” I told him honestly.

“Right. There is one in your room,” he said as he walked down a small hallway. To one side was the living room, kitchen, and dining room. To the other side were the bedrooms. There were five open doors down the lit hallway in total but we stopped at the very first. “This is yours,” he opened the door all the way and flicked on the light. The bathroom was directly off the bedroom door and there were built in cabinets right as you walked in. The bed was a queen which sat in the corner with a glass wall, the curtains flung open to allow in the light and the view of the mountains that surrounded us. There was a desk and a cushy chair, along with a side table but that was it. It was very simple. I actually liked it.

It was like the nicest hotel I had ever stayed in if it were bland. But who needed decorations when you had mountains?

“I'll give you some privacy so you can get freshened up,” he said after a moment of me looking around silently. “I'll be in the living room whenever you're ready,” Edward said politely, quietly. It wasn't at all the same voice he used in his videos. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the difference but, I was. It was still rich and soothing though.

“Thanks,” I replied as he shut the door behind him. 

I rushed to the bathroom as soon as the door was closed and took that time to let Alice know I had just arrived. I hated my nervous stomach so much.

The bathroom was bigger than my kitchen at home by at least double. It also had more counter space and storage. The shower and bathtub were separate, both big enough for two people to be very comfortable in. The glass-encased shower even had two separate waterfall shower-heads. 

I was so glad I declined the Laquinta Inn.

I felt disgusting and the temptation was far too strong not to shower. My stomach had hated me all day and it had made me sweat a little. Besides, all airports were revoltingly dirty. Quickly taking my befouled clothes off, I stepped into the promptly steamy shower. Each head had incredible pressure and the water felt magical as it rolled down my skin. I washed my hair and body quickly, taking no more than ten minutes. It was absolutely rejuvenating. 

I redressed in a clean plain comfortable black dress that went to my knees. It wasn't fancy but I often wore it to work things. I brushed my long curly black hair back in a ponytail and put on my comfortable black knee sock and ballet flats to go face him again. I didn't think to bring a hairdryer so it would just have to be wet. I didn't even consider it for some dumb reason. I was used to staying in hotels or having someone else to borrow from.

Edward was sitting on the couch with his legs out fully in front of him with a computer on his lap. The couch was impossibly big. He smiled hospitably when he saw me come in, “you didn't have to rush.”

“No. It's fine. Thanks for being patient,” I smiled back awkwardly. I suddenly didn't know what to do with myself. I was half wet talking to a very handsome stranger in a million dollar McMansion a couple of thousand miles away from home.

Edward crawled off the couch and brought the laptop with him in one hand. He seemed unfazed by my awkwardness. “I was going to order takeout,” he motioned towards the screen after he put the laptop on the long bar separating the kitchen from the other rooms There were a few stools around it but he stood. “What would you like?”

I was taken aback. I wasn’t expecting to be asked for some reason. “Oh. I don't know. I don't know what my options are.”

He chuckled, “it's LA. So pretty much anything you want.”

That really didn't help at all. “Why don't you pick a style?” I offered. “I'm not picky.”

He thought only briefly. “Asian?” He probably had this in mind all along. I wasn't against it. 

“Sure.”

He clicked on a few things, only glancing back at me once. “Chinese?”

“Sounds great,” I agreed. I loved food in general and could find something to eat just about anywhere. It was my second favorite thing besides photography. Or maybe third, after music.

Edward clicked around on the computer screen, narrowing the search down further. He arranged them by the number of reviews then showed me my options with a wave of his large hand. “These are the top ones. Why don't you pick one?”

I leaned over to look at the screen. Edward pulled out one of the stools and sat, bringing him down closer to my height, but he was still much taller than me. He was obviously trying to make me feel more comfortable. I sat on the stool beside him, clicking and reading as quickly as possible. He read along with me over my shoulder silently. He smelled nice... like books, coffee, and something vaguely sweet like cookies. I was so close I could see the stiff red and brown hair of his five o'clock shadow just poking out on his jaw and chin. I tried very hard not to look at him directly. His profile was just as nice in person. He was worrying his bottom lip with his teeth as he read, his eyelashes fluttering as his eyes moved.

I picked a restaurant in the middle of the pack. The first two seemed extremely pricey for not a lot of food while the third seemed to have big portions and high praise over their lo mein and orange chicken, two of my favorites. Most of the reviews mentioned them.

“I was hoping you'd pick that one,” he said happily. “I order there a lot. It's so good. Do you want to get a lot of stuff and just share? So we can have a little bit of everything.”

He was so relaxed. Edward was not what I expected. 

“Oh, sure. Sounds great.”

I wasn't sure what I had expected actually when I arrived but it wasn't this.

Eddie opened the menu and began to click on things. First steamed pork dumplings, egg drop soup with extra fried wontons chips then the house special lo mein and orange chicken with a large side steamed rice. And, then beef and broccoli with fried rice. It was so much food. “Okay, what would you like to get?” He asked. I looked over the menu, wondering if there was anything different I'd want. It was already so much food and the meals came with egg rolls as well. There was no way we were going to be able to eat it all.

I finally said, “duck sauce, if they have it. Um, Do you have soy sauce?”

“I sure do.” He got up and got a bottle of Kikkoman from his cabinet and set it in the middle of the counter. “Do you want to order yourself a drink or a dessert?”

“Don't you think that's enough food?” I asked as I looked over my drink options. There was no Snapple so I settled for an unsweetened tea. I requested lemon and some extra sugar for it. 

“I guess,” he almost said like a pouting child. It wasn't mean spirit, but playful. He was trying to be cute.

I laughed a little, “don't let that stop you though. I doubt I can eat as much as you can.”

“No, you're right. It is a lot of food. I tend to go overboard with things I like,” he told me as he came to sit back down on his stool. Edward ordered himself two Mexican Cokes in glass bottles. 

“If you want to split the check I have cash,” I told him. I had left my wallet in the room with my things though. 

“No, I got this,” he waved me off, going quickly to the payment page. Everything was saved for easy ordering so it was done with lightning speed. Before I could say anything else, the order was sent off. 

“Thank you,” was all I could say.

“No problem. In fact, while you're a guest in my home, food is on me.”

He shocked me. I shook my head quickly. “That's not necessary,” I began to explain that I had already been given money to cover that but he stopped me before I could finish. 

“No, no. You're here because of me and I was raised to be a gracious host,” he said, touching his hand to his heart like he was giving a pledge.

“You don't have to pay for all of my food to be a gracious host,” I told him.

He shut his laptop. “I suppose it's possible but I have the ability to do so and enjoy doing it. I pay for my friends.” A tune played that I liked went off in my head as soon as he said it.

“And do you take it as a compliment?” I finished the Childish Gambino lyric without thinking about it, almost to the beat. He smiled when he realized I knew the not so deep cut he was referencing and nodded. I liked the song 3005, too. I loved music in general. 

There was nearly eight hundred dollars left in cash for me to use during the trip. If he paid for my food I could save almost all of that and use it to pay bills. I felt a little guilty but he was right when he said he had the ability. Edward certainly lived in a nicer home than me, that's for damn sure. He wasn't sleeping on a couch in a rented living room.

“I want to argue but my bank account says to shut up and say thank you,” I finally answered, feeling embarrassed as I did.

“No, it's cool! You're very welcome! So, I was going to sit outside and smoke while we waiting for the food. Would you care to join me?” Eddie stood and stretched his long arms above his head. It was lucky he had such a high ceiling because he'd touch the one back at my apartment easily. He seemed almost two feet taller than me. Or, at least it felt like it from my spot on the stool. 

The sun was just about to go down over the mountains. It was so beautiful, the sky orange and pink with only the faintest wisps of clouds. I could see it all through the glass walls, just like in the guest bedroom. But this view came with one of the lovely pool and part of the city lights in the distance.

“Sounds good,” I finally replied when I realized I had been staring at the view. Edward just smiled at me slightly. 

Outside was a table with a large umbrella and several chairs, as well as a small cushioned loveseat with a coffee table in front of it. On the table there was an ashtray and a couple of lighters already. He pulled out a silver metal cigarette box from his shorts pocket and pulled out a perfectly wrapped cigarette looking thing, filter and all. I could instantly smell that it was the weed. 

“Would you like some?” Edward asked after he took a long drag while still standing. The smoke curled from his lips and nose, the joint pinched between his fingers so to offer it to me. 

“No, thank you,” I declined politely.

“I'm sorry. I should have asked you first if it bothered you.” He went to put it out instantly but I stopped him by placing my hand on his before he could smash it into the ashtray. 

“No. It doesn't bother me. I smoke at home sometimes. I just don't want to be unprofessional right now. This is the biggest thing I've ever done so I don't want to screw it up,” I told him honestly. “I shouldn’t indulge.” 

“You're not working until tomorrow.” He nodded slowly, “but, I understand. Let me know if you change your mind.” He took another long hit as he came to sit under the umbrella with me. I sat on the other side of the table from him, looking out onto the beautiful sunset. 

“How's the weed here?” I asked conversationally.

“Strong,” he admitted. “I just started smoking this year though so I'm not sure how it compares other places. I've been using it for my anxiety and insomnia. My doctor recommended it,” he mused, blowing out some smoke. 

“Does it help?” I asked. I used it for the same reason sometimes. 

He tilted his head while he thought about his answer. “The sleeplessness it helps for sure. I am not sure about anxiety. It helps at the moment but you can't be stoned all the time either. I don't usually smoke this early but Sundays are my off day. The weed does help when I can't get my brain to shut off, though,” the smoke curled from his perfectly shaped plush pink lips. “So, how was your flight?” I realized I had been staring at his mouth for too long.

“Uneventful, luckily,” I replied quietly. I didn't really want to talk about me. I was feeling extremely shy. “Your home is gorgeous.”

His smile was genuine. “Thank you. I just moved in a little over six months ago. I don't really have enough things to fill it yet. I only had a small apartment before in Sydney and I was sharing it with a roommate. My best mate, Jasper.”

I looked down at my hands. “Well, I can't judge you for it. I own very little and I share an apartment with my best friend, too. I sleep in the living room and she has the bedroom.”

He made a concerned face, “oh.”

I laughed mostly at myself, embarrassed, “that makes it sound terrible. My bedroom is surprisingly huge, and not just by New York standards. We have lovely hardwood floors. Our neighborhood is nice and quiet. Lots of families. And you can see the Empire State Building from my window.”

That seemed to impress him. “Wow. Do you live in Manhattan?”

I laughed at that, “no. Not for the price I'm paying. I live on the edge of Sunnyside and Astoria. In Queens. It's not as unique a boast as it sounds, being able to see a cool building in New York. It just makes me happy still.”

He chuckled, tapping the ashes into the ashtray with one of his long fingers, “well, it sounds like something to boast about. New York is lovely to visit. Maybe I'll live there one day. For the summertime anyway.”

I shook my head. “Oh, not for the summer. It's too muggy and there isn't enough air conditioning everywhere like the south. New York was made for Autumn. And spring isn't bad either. Honestly, I love snow too,” I admitted. “The snow is my favorite.”

“It rarely snows in Australia. It does happen from time to time, but it's nothing like I imagine it does in New York in the winter,” he commented wistfully.

I agreed, “especially around the mountains. We always go to the Finger Lakes to see the snow in the mountains and forest. My roommate and I sometimes rent a cabin.”

“Sounds peaceful,” he smiled at me warmly.

“It is,” I smiled in return, thinking about happier times with her. “We like to go up to Maine or Vermont to take pictures sometimes, too. Just for a weekend usually. She likes to take pictures too, but as a hobby.”

“What is there to do in Vermont?” Eddie asked.

I thought for a second. “Um... you can... eat cheese and get lost in the woods. There is probably maple syrup somewhere in there.”

Edward laughed at my answer, “I like the cheese part.”

“The woods part isn't too bad either. It's beautiful. Especially right now. End of October is the peak leaves season. You should have seen it this morning on the way to the airport from my apartment, so much beautiful red foliage all along the interstate. I hadn't been that way in ages and had forgotten how beautiful it could be, especially at sunrise. And it was foggy, too. Such a perfect serene morning,” I mused as I remembered it, practically vibrating from my pot of coffee in the back of the yellow car.

Edward's voice was so wistful, “the way you describe it makes me want to take a flight at sunrise in New York City.”

“If you're going to travel at sunrise in New York, may I suggest the ferry. You can watch the sunrise behind the Statue of Liberty. It's free, too,” I told him one of my favorite things to do. “Well, almost free. It’s the same as a bus or subway ride.”

I watched him as he considered his next words, his tongue playing at the edge of his perfect white teeth. “That sounds nice. But... I think I'm going to have to warn you right now that I am not a morning person. At all. Like I said I'm an insomniac. I try not to plan anything until the afternoon. You know, I should probably send you my work schedule for the next week,” he took out his phone from his pocket quickly. “What's your email?”

“Uhhh...” I drew out. “Bella Swan photography at Gmail,” I informed him. 

“We should have each other's cell phone number just in case.” Edward put down his half-smoked blunt into the tray. “Just in case your gate code doesn't work or whatever.” He handed me his phone with the add contact screen up. I typed in the number and passed it back to him. A moment later he sent me an emoji-filled text with waving, confetti, a party hat, and a little dancer. 

I gave a little snort when I saw it on my own screen, “I got it.”

“Great. If you ever need to get into the house without me, by the way, I'll give you the passcode. It's a keyless entry.”

“How fancy. Well, mine has TWO deadbolts and a chain,” I said in a mock snotty tone, teasing him lightly. He grinned, picking up his joint again. He went to light it but the doorbell rang for our food.

Edward hopped up and ran to go get our meal. We ate at his dinner table, the sky completely dark now. As we ate the lights seemed to pop up like stars. Of course, you couldn't really see any real stars.

I excused myself off to bed around an hour later. I didn't go to sleep right away but instead arranged my things for the week to come because my body was tightly wound from all the travel. I also studied what we'd be doing the following week. I probably wouldn't remember a thing from it in the morning though. The week was incredibly full, ending with him jumping out of a goddamn plane. If I weren't so tired it would have been exciting.

I was asleep before ten.

 

So they meet! Is he what you expected? 

True story, that happened last time I flew out of Houston. Sigh lol If I didn’t actually love Texas so much… The south is wild, y’all. 

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter three- 

 

I could not describe the headache that I woke up with, the pounding in my head at the back of my skull persistent and sharp. My entire body was aching and my stomach was a little bit unhappy still as well. Jet lag was a bitch. Or, maybe too much Chinese food.

Just after seven in the morning I finally forced myself out of the extremely soft bed and took about four ibuprofen despite knowing how terrible for me it was to do so. I stayed in the shower for way too long, just leaning against the cool tiles as the two shower heads hit my back and front at the same time. I never wanted to get out.

Edward was still asleep so I took this chance to go around and take pictures of his house. He had told me to make myself at home. Some of the spaces screamed of his personality while other spots seemed completely ignored. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were beautiful open spaces with two of the walls made up entirely of glass that had a view out onto the small but lovely pool, hot tub, and short waterfall. He had only a large brown couch in the living room that I could lay completely flat on in any direction, an end table, and a dining room table far off to one side by the windows. And, of course, the stools. But there was no art on the walls or decorations. Not even a throw pillow. I hadn't realized the night before.

His personal office seemed to be the space that was the most his. It was stuffed to the brim with shelves of books, video games, movies, toys, board games, and awards. It seemed like it never occurred to him to spread his stuff out. His Grammy was on his shelf like a bookend with another award I didn't recognize, holding up graphic novels. There were actually a couple of dozen various awards that I wasn't exactly sure of as well. I took just about a hundred pictures in that little space. To a degree, it reminded me of the bedroom of the wizard in the movie Howl's Moving Castle. But it was a comfortable space with a black leather couch, a coffee table, a television and desk with his huge computer set up as well as a space set up for filming. 

The kitchen seemed to be almost totally empty with the exception of a cabinet with a few snacks and a fridge filled with beer and wine. There was a rarely used set of matching pots and pans, dishes and only the most basic cooking utensils. He seemed to survive entirely on delivery. There was a half-filled cardboard box with packets of sauce in one of the cabinets. I took a couple of pictures of the dozens of ketchup packets, mustards, duck sauces, soy sauces, and hot sauces just for me. I liked all the colors.

I took pictures of the outside of his house and the small front lawn that was made up of pebbles and lovely cacti. I took a dozen pictures of them, but they were for me too. I liked that he didn't have the typically grassy lawn. It was very California and modern looking.

I stopped though when I realized I was getting odd looks from a neighbor across the street through the gates as they walked their little yappy dog. I can't imagine a person less than an inch from a spiky cactus with a big fancy camera looked normal. Especially since I was clearly not totally caucasian in an all-white neighborhood.

For breakfast, I had leftovers from the night before all warmed up in the microwave. It was kind of a crazy mix of everything on a bed of mixed noodles and rice, topped with a splash of soy sauce. I mixed it all disgustingly together into a sloppy melody. It was delicious. I sat at his kitchen table, eating and editing pictures on my laptop. When I was done with my food I washed my dish and wiped down the counters where I had spilled some rice. It was extremely quiet and peaceful in the space. Everything was so brightly lit. 

Though my mornings had started on entirely different coasts, the serenity helped to bring down my anxiety about what was happening. And at least I didn't have the nightmare again about my camera. It was a pleasant way to start the day.

It was noon when Edward finally came out from his bedroom. He was freshly showered and was wearing khaki shorts and a tighter tee shirt again but had bare feet. His feet were massive, perhaps half as long as my entire arm. I wasn't about to get on the floor and measure though.

“Good morning. How did you sleep? Is the bed alright?” He asked brightly as he went to the fridge. He seemed to have so much energy, bouncing as he moved. I still kind of felt a little off inside. 

“It's was very comfortable, thank you. I wish I could have slept more, frankly,” I answered. He rummaged in it for a bit, making faces at his choices. I decided suddenly that I needed to be straight with him. “So, I'm going to be real honest. I've never done anything like this before so I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to follow you around and capture your real life, yes, but I don't want to get in your way either.” 

“You won't be in the way. In fact, I wanted to talk to you about something,” he shook his head at his choices and closed the door to the refrigerator with a thud.

“Oh?”

Edward came to sit beside me at the table, me at one corner and him on the other. “I was hoping you would like to be a guest in my videos this week.”

I was confused, “what do you mean?”

“You know how I like to have my friends in my videos? It's weird to reference my own work like you should know what I'm talking about. Have you actually watched anything of mine? I guess I should ask that first. It's okay if not,” he explained quickly, almost as if he was nervous.

“Not every single one but a lot of them. Like when you do a taste test or whatever?” I asked, a little surprised. Why would he want me in the videos as well?

He seemed pleased with my response, “yes! Exactly. I've got three videos to film here today alone and you could be in some of them. If you want to, of course.”

“What if I'm terrible and boring?” I asked him before I realized what I was saying.

He made an annoyed face, confused, “how can you be terrible at trying new foods?”

I rolled my eyes, “okay. Well...The boring part is more of the problem here. I've mastered eating. Mostly.”

Eddie smirked a little. “Don't worry about that. It's my job to be the entertainment. If you don't want to, I understand. It's not for everyone but I love filming with new people.”

I thought about it for a minute. Honestly, he always looked like he was having so much fun in his videos. It was just YouTube. I had done stupid stuff for an audience before many times before. I had been a dancer and into the theater at one point in my life, after all.

“Yeah, sure. Why not? But don't hesitate to kick me out if I'm bad though.”

Edward laughed and smiled brilliantly, “seriously, don't worry about that. Alright, so... I need you to sign something. It's basically says that I have permission to use your likeness. It's so I don't get sued if I put a video up of you.”

I wasn't surprised, they had to do that in New York too for some things. 

“Sure, but try not to make me look like a toolbag, please?” I asked, giving the paper a quick read before signing it. It was in really basic wording, thankfully. It was only a page long.

“The only person I make look like a fool in my videos is me,” Edward assured me. He pulled out yet another piece of paper. “Okay, so do you have Pay Pal?”

“Yes. Why?” 

“I give everyone who's in my video a percentage. I give a standard amount to my friends... You know, of the ad revenue from my uploads. Or, endorsements or whatever implies. It's different for every video. Some make more than others. Some videos make nothing because they get demonetized for some stupid reason,” he seemed nervous again, rushing through the words. “I do it through this program that divides it automatically and it will send the money to your Pay Pal once you reach a certain amount. It can be one hundred, five hundred, one thousand, five thousand, or ten thousand. Which would you prefer?”

It was so much to take in at once.

“Oh, wow. Okay. Um... I guess one hundred? But, you don't have to give me any money. I'm going to get paid to be here,” I said in a tiny voice. 

He quickly waved off my worries. “No, I do it with anyone who's in my videos. Everyone. I feel guilty otherwise. Here, just fill this out,” he passed me the paper, sliding it across the tabletop in my direction. 

I didn't know how much money doing these videos would be if I ever saw a single cent from it at all. I kind of doubted it, honestly. I didn't think that's where he made most of his money if I had been reading correctly in the news over the past couple weeks. But, even if it was just an extra hundred someday, it was something. 

I signed the paper. I.M. Swan 

He seemed visibly relieved when I signed the paper. “So, I need to go to the store before we get started. I need to pick up a few things for the shoots. Let's stop for lunch before and then we can go to Target. There is one just up the street,” he said as he neatly stacked the newly signed and filled out forms. He tapped the two sheets on the table several times even though it was already straightened up.

“Whatever you want to do,” I told him. “I'm just going to bring my camera along with me everywhere and take pictures of you whenever I can, if that's alright? Please let me know if I'm starting to bother you or if you need me to leave you alone.”

“Yeah, of course. I will but you shouldn't worry about that. Bring your camera. It sounds like fun, I've never modeled at a Target before,” he teased cutely with a big smile on his face. He then made the worst duck face. It was both stupid and cute. 

“Have you modeled at a Walmart before?” I asked dryly.

He looked me dead in the eyes, “yes.”

I laughed at his unexpectedly serious and blunt answer. He smiled as he shook his head.

“I've not modeled before,” he told me honestly. “I've done some photo shoots but I feel very awkward in them. I actually try to avoid the press and all that. I make it part of my contracts as much as possible.”

“Then why did you agree to this? I asked curiously.

Edward half shrugged. The way he looked up at me from under his lashes made me uncomfortably warm, “I got to pick my photographer.”

I blushed for some stupid reason and bit my lip as I considered what to say.

“But... I've never done this before. I just don't understand.”

He wasn't looking at me when he responded next, “I got to look at the portfolios of my options. I liked yours the best.”

I still didn't comprehend, “I've only ever done product pictures for the magazine. I know what's in my portfolio for them. It's not anything to write home about.”

He shook his head, glancing over at me briefly. “I saw your pictures online. The ones in your online gallery. The ones you sell yourself. They were so... vivid. Very pretty. I liked the colors. Everything you shoot seems to be so vibrant and full of life, even if I don't know what it is.”

“Thank you,” I said quietly, unsure what else to do or say. My face and chest felt like it was on fire. “That's very flattering,” I admitted, feeling too flustered. 

He licked his bottom lip slowly. His voice changed a little, deepening a bit, “it's true. I am excited to see your work. I feel like you will be able to capture the enthusiasm and optimism I want to portray in my work.”

I thanked him again quietly, feeling nervous. How was I going to live up to that?

I retrieved my shoes and all my camera things from my room. He seemed like a chipper person, smiling as he opened the door to his car for me. It was a nicer car, big and silver. I didn't know anything about cars but this one seemed like a new one with all the gadgets. It wasn't overly flashy though. It was some sort of hybrid as well. I'm not sure I could have even told you a brand with three guesses.

We went to a diner down the road from his home in between his housing area and the shopping center that held the store. The menu selection was small compared to the NYC diners I was used to but it seemed pretty standard otherwise. I ordered a burger with curly fries and some unsweetened ice tea while he ordered a big breakfast sampler plate. 

All the decor was black and white checkered with bright red booths. The restaurant was mostly empty with no one sitting directly behind us. I took his picture as he looked out the window, the sun only lighting up one side of his face. When he noticed he looked down and smiled, brushing his hair away from his forehead with the flat of his palm. The shot was perfect. I took ten more pictures quickly in a row. All of them were stunning.

“Are you sure you've never modeled before?” I asked as I showed him one of the pictures I had just taken. They were literally all good. It was a rarity.

“Nope, not even in a Walmart,” he teased me.

“I guess it comes naturally when you're this pretty,” I motioned my hand over him with a smirk. 

“You must be an amazing model then,” he replied slickly. His smile was only a little flirty. I was unimpressed. 

“Aren't you smooth?” I shook my head and added sugar to my tea. Just a packet and a squeeze of lemon. The tea wasn't too bitter. I licked my fingers of the juice when I was done. 

He seemed to not be bothered, “you seem unaffected so not that smooth, obviously.”

I rested my chin on my knuckles, stirring my tea with my straw. 

“With an opening that wide?”

“Yeah, it was,” he agreed playfully, amused. “I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time.”

“Why don't you just try relaxing and being yourself?” I ask him. He seemed to be almost acting for me. I liked how he was at the house more when he was being quiet and almost shy.

“What if I'm boring and terrible?” He was turning my words from earlier back on me. Edward's face was so soft and he seemed so young and innocent at that moment. I wasn't sure if he was or if it was an act or not now. I swallowed a drink to give myself some time.

“There is a reason your videos have been viewed billions of times,” I stated simply.

He laughed without mirth, “that means literally nothing. Terrible and boring things do amazingly on YouTube. I don't understand why people watch me. I don't. I just make videos that are fun for me to make and... It's all a mask, really. One I'm good at putting on, but it's a routine. That’s all.”

“So... none of that is you in your videos? In them you seem so genuine and witty. Funny, too. What a shame. Is there some writer I should actually be speaking to?” I asked him dryly. He smirked, shaking his head. “You don't have to act humble. It's okay. I've seen the news. I’ve done my googling.”

“Do you think I'm funny?” Edward was folding and unfolding his paper napkin subconsciously.

I folded my hands on the table, feeling nervous but feeling the need to be honest with him. “You're hilarious. I wish you weren't so self-deprecating sometimes, but I get it. It's an easy laugh. It's a thing right now. It's just not my style.”

“I should probably work on that,” he admitted thoughtfully. 

“What do I know? You probably shouldn't listen to me. I'm nobody.”

“I don't think that's true. Besides, my therapist would agree with you,” he joked. 

After our conversation, I tried to pay my part of the small bill but he refused. We weren't in his home, I tried to say, but he wouldn't hear it. I left the cash as an extra tip to the waitress instead. He had left her same amount as the tab itself I realized as I put the money on the little black tray with the receipt. His handwriting on the paper was so neat.

“I don't do it every meal,” he explained when I asked him about it, “but if it's under a certain amount I always do it.”  
.  
“What's the amount? Your tipping point on tipping,” I questioned in curiosity. 

“Eh, fifty usually. Then I go on a case by case basis.”

“That's a lot,” I said in soft surprise. 

“Not really,” he replied. 

I shook my head. “No. Fifty is a power bill. Or, a week of groceries. A credit card bill. It's a lot for most of us. It's a lot to me, at least. And to a waitress probably, too.”

He was thoughtful and quiet as he considered my reply. 

“Well, I just hope it makes someone's day better then, I guess.”

Target was quiet since it was an early Monday afternoon. Edward pulled out a cart to use. I followed him around, feeling rather awkward. Like a kid shopping with a parent early in a school day. I felt very out of place.

“So, what do you need?” I questioned. 

Edward was quick with his answer, “well... I've been getting lots of requests for Little Debbie snack cake ranking videos, so lots of those. Whatever we find here.”

“Sounds... diabetic coma-inducing,” I deadpanned. 

“Right,” he laughed. “I am also doing a video ranking Pringles flavors.”

“Yum. More diabetus. I use to eat those a lot when I was a kid. They were my grandmother's favorite,” I told him with a slight smile as I remembered that red can she'd hide in her bedside table when I was a younger child. 

“What's your favorite flavor?” He said conversationally.

“I don't know if I've ever had anything other than the originals, to be honest. I haven't eaten them in a while,” I admitted. 

“Oh, well that will make the video more fun because I've not had them ever either. Or, the Little Debbies.”

“I've probably eaten all of those,” I confessed. “They're some my favorites, sadly. You'll have to do a video with some of the other brands someday if this goes well. Drake's cakes. Hostess. What else is there? Tastykakes?”

Edward glanced over at me curiously, interested in what I was actually talking about. “I've never seen Drake's cakes. I've seen the Hostess ones. Those seem to be everywhere.”

I think he liked how seriously I was taking his videos. I was also obviously giving him ideas, too.

“I think Drakes is New Englander thing. I'm not sure. Maybe you can order some? They're really good though,” I explained. I could practically see them in my mind's eye in my little corner bodega at the corner of my apartment building. 

“I'll have to look into that,” he pulled out his phone and quickly typed something into it before putting it away again. “My food videos always do really well and they're so easy to film. I can knock out a few a day sometimes. I love them so much.”

“Are all the videos you're doing today going to be food related?” I asked. 

“No, I'm doing an unboxing video, which is also stupid easy and just stupid. I don't understand the appeal of them but also, something else that does really well,” he seemed confused by all of it. I agreed with him with a small nod.

“What are you unboxing?”

“A limited edition version of a game I'm in. Not the one that's just coming out but one that came out last year. It's a game of the year edition with all the DLC and it comes with swag.”

“Death... Calling?” I struggled to remember his IMDB page.

“Yeah! I play the annoying robot companion,” he smiled widely. “Plexie. It's probably my favorite game I've been in so far, gameplay wise. I platinumed it twice now.”

“What about Red Ops 3?” I asked about the game that was coming out later this month. That’s what why he was jumping out of a plane, to promote the game. 

“It's a shooter... a shooter is a shooter is a shooter,” he shrugged, a little bored. “Nobody is playing it for the story though. It's fun, don't get me wrong. I guess I shouldn't tell you this,” he looked a bit bashful.

“I won't tell anyone your secret,” I promised.

“Thanks,” he chuckled, embarrassed a little. “I'm not bad mouthing the game, I suppose. It's just...” he trailed off.

“It's just a game,” I replied. “I understand.”

“And, a good paycheck.”

“Will you be in the sequel?” I asked conversationally. Every game seemed to have a sequel. 

“Mm, I hope so. If there is one.”

“Do you enjoy voice acting?” I asked softly.

“Honestly, it's what I've always wanted to be. Even as a little kid. I'd do stupid voices all the time and drive my mum up the wall. Even when I was in uni and getting a degree I knew I'd never use it. I was just getting it to make my parents happy.”

“What did you get a degree in?”

He made a face, “business and marketing.”

“Well, I don't think that's a waste of a degree. I've got a wasted degree. You're still obviously using those skills,” I told him. “When did you start doing YouTube? Before college?”

“Way before. I started doing it when I was still in school. Sixteen, I suppose. But by the time I had finished my first year at university I was able to support myself fully with my videos. I got my first voice acting role right before I graduated. That was almost four years ago now.”

I laughed a little bit uncomfortable. “Christ, that makes me feel old. What are you? Twenty-five or six?”

“Twenty four. My birthday is in November.”

“Ugh...” I drew out in annoyance, making him laugh. “You're still a baby!”

“How old are you? You can't be that much older than me, surely! I thought you were my age.”

“Aw, honey, that is so sweet, even if you're a filthy liar,” I said in a syrupy southern accent. “I'm thirty-three.”

“Really?!” He said in shock. “Oh, that sounded bad. I mean, you don't look over thirty at all. You are very baby-faced. I would have never have guessed.”

“It's not the face. It's the height,” I told him. “Being part dwarf knocks ten years off, apparently.”

Edward laughed again, “you're not a dwarf. I'd say you're more halfling.”

I stopped in the middle of the aisle we were walking in and turned to look at him. “Did you just make a Dungeons and Dragons reference?”

He held his head up high, “yes. Yes, I did.”

“Nerd,” I deadpanned.

He laughed as we walked together again. I was enjoying talking to him. I was hardly paying attention to the stuff on the shelves. “Did you play?”

I was almost a little embarrassed to admit it. 

“Yeah. And Vampire the Masquerade. Like decades ago though.”

“Nerd,” he replied back dryly, making me smile. 

“Not to change the subject, but do you have a coffee machine?” I asked as we walked past the bags of coffee. I always loved the smell of the coffee aisle. It was the only reason I had noticed where we were. 

“I have one of those pod machines.” I made a little face and he noticed right away. “I don't like it that much either.”

“Do you have a drip machine or a french press?”

“No?”

“Oh,” I considered my options. I was definitely going to need coffee on during the trip. I was probably addicted and would go into withdrawals soon. “Do you like coffee?” I asked him.

“Yes,” he said quickly, “but I'm not very good at making it. I don't know what to buy either, to be honest. And the coffee shops are different than at home. Frankly, it's all pretty terrible here.”

“Would you mind if I got the stuff to make coffee at your place?”

Edward tilted his head slightly to the side, “why would I mind that?”

“I don't know. It's loud. It'll take up space. I'll have to leave it or throw it away when I go,” I explained. “If not I can just get me some strong tea but I like coffee a lot better. And as much as I drink it would still be cheaper to buy the machine than going to Starbucks or whatever every day.”

“I have a kettle if you want tea but I don't have a lot of things for my kitchen,” he seemed properly embarrassed by this fact.

“I've noticed.”

He waffled his head from side to side, “well, you'll have to leave it my house anyway so why don't I buy it? I just haven't known what to buy. I need it anyway. You know?”

“Oh...Um...” I drew out. “It's pretty easy. You just have to decide what level of lazy you want to be. It's not a huge difference. But, it does affect the quality of the coffee.”

“I'd like a really good cup of coffee. It's my favorite in the morning... or mid-afternoon, usually. And it's been ages since I've had one,” he explained. “Australian coffee is in another league.”

“Do you like it strong?” I questioned.

“Very. American's is weak, bitter, shit.”

“K,” I mumbled as I grabbed a bag of my favorite whole beans. It was a bit more expensive but it was much better in terms of flavor. “We'll need sugar. Creamer or milk, too.”

When we went to the dairy section I picked out a sweet creamer and Edward got a more interesting chocolate hazelnut, along with a half gallon of milk. After we got sugar and some salt we went to the kitchen aisle completely across the store. I picked out a coffee grinder and a simple cheap french press. Edward picked a couple of simple white wide mugs as I did. They probably could fit three cups worth of coffee in them. They would have made better soup bowls. I grabbed a normal sized one for me.

“And, you know how to use all of this?” He asked, unsure as he looked at the boxes I had selected. 

I couldn't help but smirk, “yup. I promise I do.”

I stopped to admire a dress as we walked through the store towards the checkout. It was a short sleeveless dress that was made of lovely cotton. It was black with red embroidered roses on it. The high neck was lacy and it had black and red tulle around the bottom of the skirt to fluff it up some. And, it was an extra small, too. Just my size. It was so tempting. 

“That's cute,” Edward chimed in from beside me. I hadn't realized he was watching me.

“I like the flowers,” I agreed. “I like roses.”

“Why don't you get it?”

“I don't have any reason to get it and I shouldn't spend the money,” I told him truthfully. “Remember, fifty is a lot to me?”

Edward flipped over the price tag and made a little face when he read it. It had a clearance tag on it.

“It's seven dollars.”

“Oh, that's not bad,” I commented, biting my lip as I considered buying it. I really didn't have a reason to purchase it and I couldn't wear it in New York until probably April without freezing my tits off. But, it was so damn cute.

“Is this your size?” He asked. I nodded slowly, still thinking about it. I knew I probably wasn't going to get it. Edward tossed into the cart.

“Wait-” I said to him as he had begun to walk off.

“Nah. Consider it your reward for coming with me on a boring errand run,” he said as he began rolling away towards the cashier. “And for showing me how to use this shit,” he pointed to the coffee stuff in the cart.

“I'm getting paid to do that and you bought me lunch anyway,” I argued. “And, I'll drink the coffee, too.”

“You're not getting paid to pick up Zebra Cakes and Cosmic Brownies with me. It's just seven dollars. It's cool.”

“It makes me feel weird,” I told him honestly.

“Why?” He seemed genuinely surprised. 

“I don't know. It just does. Coffee is one thing. But, you don't have to feel like you need to pay for all these things. I know you have the money but as I said, I'm getting paid. I don't know how others are with you, but I don't want to use you. I have the cash.”

Edward was so quick with his response, “well, obviously not enough if you can't impulse buy a pretty seven dollar dress.”

I honestly couldn't argue that with him. I did like the dress though even if his comment stung a little. It wasn't much. “Thank you,” I finally said, trying not to be an asshole.

“Yeah, of course. You're very welcome,” he replied nonchalantly as he tossed a couple of candy bars onto the conveyor belt. 

When we were walking outside to the car we were ambushed by a couple of short little boys who were standing by a table covered in boxes of cereal bars and bags of oranges. They had deeply tanned skin and wild short black hair that stuck up in uncontrollable spikes around their heads. There were only two front teeth between them, one apiece. 

“¡Hola!” They shouted at me, one of them jumping up and down as he did. They automatically assumed I spoke Spanish. I got it a lot with my appearance. I was ready for them though. “¿Quiere comprar algo para ayudarnos ir al school trip?”

“¿Un viaje de escuela?¿A dónde van?” I asked in my best kid-friendly voice. I wasn't as fast as them when I spoke.

“Disneyland!” They said in unison.

“Wow!” I exclaimed at their happiness. They couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old. They were precious in their matching yellow school shirts. “A ver, ¿qué tienen?”

“Barras de granola,” one answered me.

“Y naranjas,” the other chimed in. I walked over to the table where the mom was sitting with the granola bars and bags of fruit they had for sale. “Son de nuestro tree,” he said excitedly as he realized that they were probably about to make a sale. I liked their Spanglish. It was adorable.

“¿Cuánto cuesta?”

“Cinco,” the mom pointed the granola bars and then to the oranges, “tres.”

I pulled out my wallet and looked at my flavor options. They had chocolate chip, peanut butter, and dried fruit. I took out a ten and a five dollar bill. It was the smallest bills I had. “Una de chocolate y una bolsa de naranjas, por favor.” 

The boys eagerly handed me what I asked for and I traded it for the cash which they quickly handed off to their mom. ¡Disfruta el viaje!" I told them in my Sunday school teacher voice. He had been a while since I had used it last.

“¿Quiere su cambio?” The mother asked as she pulled a wad of one dollar bills out of the box on the table. They had already done very well. They were very cute.

“No,” I shook my head. “Diviértense.”

Edward had quietly watched the whole exchange. I put the bars and the bag of oranges into the budgie. “I don't speak Spanish,” he finally said as we made it into the parking lot. I laughed at the abruptness of it.

“I took Spanish in sixth through twelfth grade. I was even treasurer of the Spanish club in high school,” I told him. “It's helpful in Texas, where I grew up. And, in New York, too.”

“Here, too,” he spoke thoughtfully. “I took German in school.”

“Can you still speak it?” I asked. 

“Guten Nachmittag, Fräulein,” he tipped an imaginary hat at me. I smirked. I knew two of the three words and probably could have guessed the one I didn't know for sure with three tries. 

“Gesundheit,” I deadpanned. 

“Har Har,” he teased as he put the things in the trunk of his car. “Lustige dame.”

“What does that mean? Stupid woman?” I asked with a laugh. 

He chuckled, “no. Funny woman. I think.” 

“So, close then,” I said as he opened the car door for me.

“I don't think you're stupid at all. I think you're lovely. You made those boys very happy. It's funny, you didn't give it a single thought about handing them the extra money but wouldn't buy a seven dollar dress for yourself. I just feel bad that I didn't have any cash for them.”

“They need to go to Disney more than I need a dress,” I countered. “Anyway, you did something nice for me. I can pay it forward. It's not that much. Besides, I needed something for breakfast. I can't just drink the free coffee.”

 

I decided to not do a translation. All you need to know is they’re selling stuff to go on a school trip. 

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter four- 

 

When we got back to his house I helped Edward bring everything inside. I finally took more pictures of him. I took a series of him carrying boxes of snack cakes and Pringles cans into his office. It was a surprisingly funny set of photos. Especially since I captured him dropping things. Twice. For some reason, he didn't keep them in their bags and tried to carry them under his arms.

“Goddammit,” Edward muttered under his breath. He shouted it the second time.

“Mm, pringle shards,” I teased him as I helped him pick up the cans from the floor after I finished taking pictures of his amusing misfortune. 

“Whoops,” he laughed awkwardly. Edward gave me a large shit-eating grin.

He placed the boxes and cans onto the coffee table. Next, he brought in a couple of bottles of water for us to drink when we were tasting things. In the room, to one side there was a table in front of a shelf of weird toys and swag he had gotten from video games and movies. It had two chairs behind it and a tripod with a camera set up in front of it. 

“So, I'll do the unboxing video first,” he explained as he thought about his work out loud. “Actually, I'll take pictures for the thumbnails first. Then I'll do the unboxing video. And then we can do the food ranking videos. Sound good?”

“Yup. Is it okay if I take pictures of you while you set up?”

“Go ahead,” he waved me off.

We took pictures, him of his video game stuff and food and me of him taking pictures. When he was done he stood up straight with his camera and took a picture of me, catching me off guard. I was taking a picture of him as he did so. Edward lowered his camera and grinned in pleasure at my surprised reaction. 

“If you don't use a flash you can take pictures during the video if you want,” he told me as he made sure his video camera was ready to go. 

“Good to know,” I said quietly.

Eddie sat behind the table with his box. The camera was very close to the table so it could capture everything in detail. He cleared his throat and sat up straight. 

He took a deep breath, “three, two, one... Hello, everyone and welcome back! I'm Eddie, your not so humble host!” He said in a bright and animated voiced. “So today I've got an extra special treat for you! I'm a very lucky boy and the wonderful developers over at Blue Box have sent me the special limited edition of Death Calling, the game of the year edition, and they have given me the honor... NAY! The privilege of being the first to unveil it to the public in all of its morbid glory. 

“Not only do you get the game and all of it's DLC but you get a Creator Science mug, just like the collectible from the game. Too bad it doesn't actually increase your energy in real life. Of course, we need something to put in those mugs! So, we've got ourselves this gorgeous bright red health tonic, cherry pomegranate flavored so it might actually be healthy for you but probably not. I'm not going to drink it because it's too beautiful to waste. It also comes with an enamel pin of the Frost gun, which is my favorite weapon in the game, hands down. Because nothing is more fun than freezing your enemies whole and shattering them into a million pieces like a savage. And then last but certainly not least I am proud to reveal the very best part of this already amazing set. A Funko pop of my character. That's right! Plex, the very best worst robot is getting his very own figure! But this ain't no newb Plexie. No! He is rocking his very own fully upgraded tank armor. And he is a sexy beast,” he showed off the little toy to the camera. “I can't tell how excited this makes me! It's my first Funko! But, hopefully not the last!” He wiggled his eyebrows somehow. I smiled to myself as I watched him work.

He placed the toy on his shelf right behind him, mugging for the camera. “Alright everyone, that is what I've got for you today. If you want to pre-order this awesome edition head over to my website, Eddie Cullen dot com and click on the link or you can go directly to Blue Box Games dot com. If you're not already, please like, subscribe and remember to hit the bell so you can stay up to date with my ever growing ego. Buh-bye!”

I took his picture just as he said bye. He looked relieved as he could finally breathe again. His eyes met mine and he seemed almost... exposed.

“How was that?” He asked as if he was actually nervous.

I wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to hear so I simply told him the truth, “seemed solid. I couldn't say to the visuals. I didn't see what the camera was filming, but I think you got it.”

“Yay, first take,” he mumbled dryly to himself as he put the mug and drink on the shelf behind him with other collectibles of the same style. Edward put the game on the shelf with the others. I took pictures as he did. He posed beside it when he noticed like he was on Wheel of Fortune. 

“Would you like to do sweet or salty first?” Edward asked as he mugged now for my camera. He made the duck face again. The quiet him was gone once more.“Your choice.”

I rolled my eyes, “salty then sweet.”

“Sounds perfect,” he lined up the Pringle cans on the front of the table “So, I'll start and you can jump in whenever you feel comfortable. I'll start on one, like before. Just let me know if you need to stop for any reason.”

“Alright. Where shall I sit?” I asked as I put my camera down on the coffee table and picked up a bottle of water. 

“Either is fine.” 

He put down a pad and a couple of markers for us to write with. 

I sat to his right side. I cracked open the water and took a little sip so my throat wouldn't be dry. I was feeling a little nervous suddenly.

“Okay. Three, two, one... Hello everyone and welcome back! We've done Walker's. We've done Smith's. We've done Lay's. You've been asking for it so today we're ranking Pringles flavors. But, no, I'm not doing it alone! Today I'm joined by a super special guest. She has the unfortunate task of following me around and taking my picture for a full week. She's super talented and we're wasting her precious time with our tomfoolery so everyone give a warm welcome to the very lovely Ms. Bella Swan!”

I waved to the camera and smiled brightly to match his. “Hi! I'm really excited to be here actually.”

“So, do you like chips? Or crisps as my parents would call them?” He chatted for the camera.

“I do. They're probably one of my favorite quick snack foods to buy because it's just impossible to get the same result from a homemade version,” I explained. 

“Do you have a favorite flavor?”

“Of Pringles or of any chip in general?”

Eddie thought for a moment, “mm, both.”

“Pringle's originals are simple and perfect. Of any chip, in general, I'd say either honey barbecue or fried green tomatoes. I have to admit I have to just not buy them because I'll eat them all at one time and they don’t come in little bags.”

He hammed up a super interested face with wide eyes. “Oh, my god! I've never tried either of those and they sound delicious.”

I tried not to laugh. The way he was looking at me I could tell that's what he wanted. “They're both Lay's,” I replied evenly.

“I'll have to look for those!” He said excitedly, “those are such interesting flavors! Not very common. They're both very southern American, too.”

“You can take the girl out of Texas...” I trailed off in a thick accent again. He chuckled. 

“So, what we have here is the top ten selling flavors of potato goodness and we're going to taste each flavor and rank it on one thing alone. Flavor. We'll give it a number one to ten and then audience we will give you the definitive list of Pringles flavors. I know you've all been on the edge of your seating waiting for this,” he said sarcastically.

It's amazing what he could say with a straight face. I felt like I was playing pretend. 

“First, the original!” He struggled to open the safety seal and ripped the little tab off. “Dammit!” He snapped at the can. I laughed at his frustration, taking it from him so I could use my one long thumbnail on my left hand to pierce the wax paper. Popping it, I pulled it away and put it in the trash can beside us. “Show off.”

“If that's showing off you're in for a long day, sugar,” I warned him. He almost laughed but pursed his lips together and looked away so he could stay composed. He held my gaze for a second, his bright green eyes were beautiful.

“You're not wrong,” he muttered with those big fake wide eyes again as he pulled out a couple of chips for each of us to eat. He was such a ham. I wondered how much of our stupidity would actually make it into the video.

“They're in better shape than I expected,” I told him honestly, not waiting for him before popping one directly into my mouth. “Eddie kept tossing them around like a football for some reason,” I told the camera. 

“Not on purpose!” He pretended to be offended for a hot second before moving on abruptly. “What do you rank this? Do we even need to talk about the flavor of this one?”

I put my hand on my chin. “No. Perfect potato-y flavor. Perfectly overly salted. Classic. Eleven out of ten would snack again.”

He raised an eyebrow somehow at me. I wasn't sure how he could do it because I couldn't. “Wow, you're already bucking the system and awarding a whole extra bonus point.”

“What can I say? I'm a rebel,” I said as dryly and as bored as possible. Edward actually laughed then, a genuine real laugh. I snickered at his amusement, making me break and smile. I looked away so I could become serious again.

Next was the barbecue flavor. Though I liked the barbecue flavored things, I didn't like this one. I gave it a two out of ten. Eddie gave it a five. 

“It's not impressive nor is it as good as the original,” he agreed.

Next was sour cream and onion which I liked better, but I only gave it a five. Eddie didn't like that one, giving it a three. We both gave the pizza a five as well as the ranch and jalapeno. He really liked the salt and vinegar, giving them an eight while I gave them a four. We both gave the loaded potatoes and cheddar cheese ten out of ten. The Memphis barbecue was a three from me and a four from him.

“So, what you're telling me is after all that my extra point determines the winner and breaks a hard three-way tie?” I asked him as I read the yellow legal pad with our numbers that he had been keeping track of. 

“That's exactly how it worked out!” He laughed at the irony of it. “So, our top three is Originals, followed by the amazing loaded baked potato and cheddar and sour cream! Maybe skip the barbecue. What is your favorite flavor? Comment down below and let me know what foods you'd like me to rank in the future. Bella, do you have anything you want to plug?” He asked. I had to think for a moment.

“You can follow me on Facebook or Instagram at Swan Photography. You can also go to Swan Photography dot com to buy prints of some of my favorite pictures that I've taken.”

He clapped his big hands together, “and everyone, they're so awesome! Definitely check them out. The links will be down below. If you're not already, don't forget to click subscribe and the hit the bell so you can stay up to date on whatever ridiculous thing I call work next! Buh-bye!”

Edward relaxed beside me visibly. “You did so good!” He genuinely praised me as he began to clear the table of our mess with his hands, scrapping the crumbs into a pile.

“Really?” I questioned.

He smiled almost shyly, “yea! Especially for your first time. I really like your... how should I say this? Acerbic wit. I like the banter. Just relax and don't be afraid to say whatever is on your mind. If it doesn't work, I can always edit it out after.”

“In Texas,” I told him a thick accent, “we'd call that being a smartass and I got my ass whooped a lot for it.”

He laughed quietly as he wiped the crumbles into his hands. “You're not wrong. But, so am I. Two peas in a sarcastic pod. So, are you ready for the next video or do you need a break?” Edward asked pleasantly. 

“Can I get some milk to drink instead of water first?”

“Good idea,” he said as he stood. “I'll be right back.” 

He left before I could say anything else. After a few minutes, he returned with two perfectly cold and frothy cups of milk. 

Edward set up the table with the snack cakes. He wasn’t looking at me, “would you like to do the intro this time?”

“How?” I asked. 

“However you like. You've seen how I do it. If It doesn't work we can cut and start again. We're doing really well on time,” he looked at his watch. “It's earlier than I thought.”

“Okay.”

He sat down beside me again and started the camera with the little remote in his pocket. “Three, two, one...” Edward counted off. 

“Hello everyone and welcome back!” I began, imitating him. “Today we're about to get mad diabetes because we're going to rank Little Debbie's snack cakes. This is Eddie Cullen,” I pointed to Edward with my own shit-eating grin. I could pretend to be on a morning talk show if he wanted me to.

“And that is my very special guest, Bella Swan,” he replied back smoothly like the conversation we were having was normal.

“And if you're seeing this video, please send insulin.”

Edward snickered, covering his mouth with his fist as he looked away from my very serious face. When he turned back he tried to just smile again but just snorted. I turned to face him completely in my chair, staring him down as I took a tiny sip of my milk without saying a word. My face was as blank as possible.

“You've not even had sugar yet,” I finally said as he continued his giggling fit. 

“I know,” he muttered as he caught his breath with a half giggle in his tone. “I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me.” He took a deep breath and swallowed. “Okay, so first we're going to start with the oatmeal cookie,” he cleared his throat and spoke at the camera again. “We're going to split this in half and...” he offered me both halves. I took the smaller one and broke that in half so that it was only a bite. 

It was just fine. It was just sweet super soft fluff, to be honest. I was unimpressed. Edward thought it was too sweet.

Next, we tried Nutty bars, then Cosmic Brownies, Zebra Cakes, and Swiss Cake Rolls. By the time we got the Honey Buns, I was laughing so hard I was having trouble keeping things in my mouth. I spit a little milk more than once and choked on it but luckily only coughed for a moment while Edward gave me a quick rub on the back. Also more than once we had to start over because he was laughing so hard. At one point he had to yell at me to stop looking at him because he was giggling too hard.

We had so much sugar. 

“Alright, everyone! There you have it! Swiss Cake Rolls are king. Cosmic Brownies may be at the bottom of our list, but are they your personal favorites? Let me know down in the comments and let me know what you'd like to see ranked next!” He pointed over to me.

“So, don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you can keep up to date with all the sweet, sweet content!”

“Buh-bye!” Edward said before turning off the camera. He laughed happily as he set the remote on the table and rubbed his forehead. “I've got a sugar headache.”

“I'm not surprised. You ate all of yours,” I pointed at the leftovers on my plate, still picking at some of them for little bites of chocolate or cream. I'd poke them with my finger and lick it off. 

Edward looked at his watch again. “I can't believe how quickly we got done,” he told me as we still sat the table. “I think we have time for one more video... if you're willing.”

“Sure. What kind of video? I'm not sure I can do more food just yet.”

“Me either,” he agreed. “I was thinking since you're here... Would you like to do one of my ‘Twenty Questions and an Impression’ videos?”

“Oh,” I drew out. “I thought you only did that with your close friends.”

He was surprised by my words. I don’t think he had expected me to have watched so many of his videos. There were only a few of these. Edward cleared his throat quietly. “Um, well. I mean, I've done it mostly with my friends but it really is a game about getting to know new people while being able to practice whatever accent I may get. If you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't want to make you do something you might be uncomfortable with.”

I thought about it for a minute. “I'm not the most exciting person to learn about but I don't mind.”

He shot up from his chair. “Awesome! Perfect! Just give me a few moments.”

Edward got reset up very quickly and had me sit alone at the desk. This time he was sitting behind the camera with his phone waiting in his hands. there was a little mic pinned to his shirt so he could be heard clearly. In front of me, there was a Halloween style cheap top hat filled with little pieces of folded paper.

“Alright, three, two, one... Hello everyone and welcome back! It's time once again for everyone's favorite filler episode... Twenty Questions and an Impression, the show where a friend pulls a voice from a hat and then I ask them twenty random questions in that voice. This week we have our latest victim, the lovely Ms. Bella Swan,” he pointed at me, wanting me to speak. 

“Hi!” I smiled and waved to the camera. I reached into the hat and pulled out a sheet of paper when he told me to. It was handwritten and a single word. 'Southern'. “Nope,” I muttered and put it back. 

“Wait!” Edward laughed, “which was that?”

I was embarrassed at myself for my answer. 

“Southern. Bad southern accents are like my pet peeve. Sorry.”

He didn't seem bothered by my answer, just curious. “What makes you think mine will be bad?”

I looked him dead in the face with wide serious eyes. I then cocked my head to the side slowly. Then a little more at a lower angle. Edward laughed and waved me on to pick another. 

“Scottish,” I showed the camera the new paper.

“Oh! Yer done given me an easy one,” he began in his outrageously loud fake Scottish accent. It was obnoxious.

“Alright, Mr. McDuck,” I teased him, putting the hat back on the shelf. “I'm ready when you are.”

“First question!” He started as he waited for the app on his phone to randomly pick a question. “Hae ye ever played a sport?”

“Yes. I did gymnastics as a kid and dance, too. And, I was a cheerleader.”

He nodded, eyes still on the screen. “Question two! Whit movie scarred ye as a wee bairn?”

“Scarred me? Like stuck with me, messed me up. Ummmm....” I drew out. “Raiders of the Lost Ark. The snake part. I don't like snakes. That, or David Bowie's codpiece in Labyrinth. That ruined me forever,” I looked dead-eyed into the camera again like I was reliving the trauma. I blinked very slowly.

Edward pursed his lips so as not to laugh, trying to get another question to load by wildly tapping it with his thumb. His cheeks were pleasantly pink with amusement. “Three! Whit is ye dream car?” 

“A self-driving one. I haven't driven more than a few hours in like ten years,” I admitted. “Cars are not really in my wheelhouse.”

The next one loaded quicker. “ Question Four! Is a hot dug a sandwich?”

I laughed at this one. I didn't expect it. “Um, no. A hot dog is a sausage, not a sandwich, but I know what you mean. No. It is meat stuffed into bread. A sandwich usually includes two or more separate slices of leavened bread. And, it is possible to make a hot dog sandwich, suggesting that a hot dog is not already a sandwich.”

“ 'At was way moor thoughtful than it deserved,” he told me as he waited for the next question. “Question Fife! Whit is yer first fife jobs?”

“Oh, um,” I thought about it. “I'm not sure if I've had five jobs. Let's see. I started babysitting when I was like eleven like most kids do. Then I started working at my church when I was fourteen. I had to get my Mamaw to sign a special paper and talk to someone since I was so young. I worked in the baby room there until I graduated high school.”

“They lit ye wark in the wee bairns' room?” He asked still in character, surprised. “So young.”

“Well, I actually started volunteering in the kid's rooms when I was like ten to get out of sitting still during church. I started out helping with the toddlers but then I got a chance to work with the babies and I loved it.”

He had a small smile on his face, “so, ye good with wee babes?”

“Yeah, I have mastered the newborn to about eighteen month age range, at least,” I told him. “I love babies. Anyway, after high school, I moved to New York. I worked in a family owned Italian place in the kitchen as a cook for about five years while I put myself through school. After that, I started my career in photography and helped my friend start up her non-profit. I worked in the office. And, I've been doing that pretty much ever since. So, I guess that's five?”

“Whit sort of non-profit is it?”

“We help those who might not be able to travel for whatever reason and help them to get exposed to other cultures and travel. We help kids who have never left the Bronx get to go to places like Germany or England. Australia. Or, adults who've been unable to get out of the house because of disabilities and take them to the beach or the garden. There is a whole host of things we do every week. Long trips, day trips, two-hour outings. Classes. It's a fantastic organization that I am so proud to be a part of. It's called Culture for All, at Culture for all dot com. Please, please, please donate so we can continue to open up the world for everyone if you can.” I put up prayer hands. I was willing to beg for Alice. She worked too hard. She was the only one I was willing to do it for.

“Link in the box down below!” He forgot halfway through that he needed an accent before picking it up again at the end. “Six! If animals could gab, which wood be th' rudest?”

“If animals could talk... hm...” I thought out loud, giggling a little. “Well, I think the rudest can already talk. I think it was Andrew Jackson's parrot that got kicked out of his funeral for cursing too much.”

“Seriously?!” Edward laughed genuinely.

“Yeah, I think so,” I smiled at his reaction. “Birds are kind of assholes anyway. They're just mad they’re not dinosaurs anymore.”

“Question seven,” he said in the hopes to move on, half with a laugh. “Are ye close wit yer mum and dad?”

This was a rather sore spot for me. I had actually had made this speech so many times to so many people. It amazed me how much it actually came up. “Uh... no. I don't know who my father is, actually. There is no name on my birth certificate. My mom died when I was five so I didn't really get to ask. My maternal grandmother raised me until I was fifteen but then she passed away.”

“I'm sorry,” he said in his quiet normal tone. “I can ask another question. Or, we can stop.”

“No, it's fine. I'm really removed from it all now,” I scratched behind my ear. “It happened so long ago. Anyway, I was really lucky because my best friends' mother became my guardian and I'm still very close to her today. Hi Mrs. Brandon! Love you,” I waved at the camera. “She's going to show this to every person she knows,” I explained to him. 

“Alright, somethin lighter now,” he continued on. He grimaced when he saw it but continued. “Question eight. Whit is th' sexiest name ye can tink of?”

I looked directly into the camera, “Bella, obviously.”

“Wrong. It's Edward,” he told me seriously, making me laugh quietly and roll my eyes. “Nine! Whit is yer eye colour?”

I opened my eyes wide for the camera. “I have one brown and one blue eye. I have full genetic heterochromia, meaning I have two different colored eyes, or rather the blue is lacking pigment. It doesn't affect my eyesight though.” I always knew that was the next question.

Edward leaned forward to look at my eyes, his head tilted slightly. I cocked my head to the side as well, keeping my eyes opened wide. “That's cool,” he mumbled under his breath. “Like David Bowie.”

“Bowie got his from a punch during a fight over a girl. His pupil was just always fully dilated and he had naturally blue eyes,” I replied back.

Edward straightened his head up. He forgot the accent again. “Gah, really? I'm learning so much today.”

“I am full of useless knowledge.” 

“Question...” He drew out, tapping on his phone for the next question. 

“Ten,” I answered when he couldn't think of the number. 

Eddie grinned at me, “right. Not completely useless. Ten! Wood ye rather fin true love or fife million dollars?”

That was an easy one. 

“True love. Money doesn't buy happiness, only security. Beside five million isn't what it use to be.”

He nodded his head thoughtfully as he waited for the next question to come up on his phone. “Eleven! Top fife favorite video games. Do ye play?”

I smiled. I liked this question a lot. “I do! I use to play a lot with my husband, less so now,” I started.

“You're married?” He said very quietly in his normal voice. 

I hadn't even realized I had mentioned my late husband. It just slipped out. I realized I hadn’t thought about him once in the past few days and felt instantly guilty for it.“No. I'm a widow, actually.”

Edward turned bright red in the face and his eyes got wide.“Jesus, I am so sorry.”

I laughed but it wasn't a funny one. I rubbed my hand over my chest as I thought of what to say to him. “Really, you don't have to keep apologizing. Death... happens. I get it, though. What else can you say?”

“You're so young though.” He seemed impossibly sad for me. It was very sweet in an almost naive way. 

I shrugged and shook my head as I held one hand to my stomach. It was thinking about being nervous again. I had to fight the urge to chew on my nail as well. 

“Death can happen at any moment. Trust me, I know. My husband just dropped dead of an undiagnosed birth defect while getting breakfast one morning. He was healthy, active, ate right. He had a full check up the month before because we were trying to get pregnant, too. He was just forty. And he was dead before he hit the sidewalk. That was three almost four years ago and it's still shocking,” I explained my life story for some reason. I hated myself for it. I took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Anyway, my husband use to collect video games and video game systems. Half his office was just shelves and shelves of video games and the books that go with them. Even if they were terrible, for some reason,” I shook my head as I thought about it. They were such a hassle to keep dusted. I always made him do it.

“I'd probably say my favorite games are,” I continued, just trying to move on from our sad conversation. “Gosh, that's hard... Final Fantasy X. Kingdom Hearts, the first one. Any of the Mario Kart games. Maybe one of the Grand Theft Auto series or maybe the Mass Effect series. One and two were both great. But if we just go on the sheer number of hours played it would probably be World of Warcraft or Stardew Valley. I've played both for literal months. Don't Starve, too. Or, maybe old school Rollercoaster Tycoon.”

“I like those, too,” he said with the Scottish accent back in place once again.

“I'm a filthy casual though,” I pointed out. I knew he was not. 

“That tis th' dumbest tin,” he shook his head. “Oh, that sounded more Jamaican.”

“How many people are you going to offend with this accent, by the way?” I asked him curiously. 

He scoffed, “well... I'm doing a near spot-on impression of me grandpa, so... at least my entire family.”

I laughed and he smiled sweetly. “Question twelve. Wood ye rather ne'er be angry again or envious again?”

“I'm not really a jealous or possessive person. But, I am angry all the time,” I said a little sarcastically. “I don't know what I'd do with myself if I was never angry again though. Anger is a powerful tool. It forces change. But, I guess anger. I don't think either would be beneficial.”

“Anger leads to hate,” he said in a Yoda voice.

“Only if you don't do anything about it,” I replied.

“Wise, you are,” he did in the Yoda voice again. He cleared his throat and began again in Scottish. “Thirteen. Favorite book?”

That was an easier one. “A Stranger beside me by Ann Rule.”

“Fourteen. Where war ye born?”

“Houston, Texas.

He tapped on his phone screen again. “Question fifteen. Whit any person wood ye like tae have dinner wit? Livin o ded.”

“My father,” I answered truthfully. That would always be my answer to that question.

“So, you really don't have any idea?” He asked in his regular voice, very quietly. 

“No. Not really. I only have the vaguest context clues. My appearance is the biggest. I'm guessing he was probably Mexican or maybe Afro-Latino. My hair is pretty curly and thick, but I’m pretty light. I don't know though. My white mom worked at a Tex-Mex restaurant when she got pregnant, I think. And, I think if he had been white, or passing at least, my mom’s parents would have forced a shotgun wedding but I think their racism was stronger than their religion,” I explained to him. It's something I had explained many times to many people as well. Friends, curious strangers, expensive therapists...“My grandmother really improved after my grandfather and mom died though. I don't know if she knew who it was either or if I was just too young for her to tell me before she died. My grandmother didn't talk about any of it though, to be honest. She barely spoke about my mom at all.”

“That's a lot for a kid to handle,” he told me softly.

“I think it would be a lot for anyone at any age,” I told him. “It sucks. But we can move on though if you like.”

“Right, sorry,” Edward cleared his throat. “Question sixteen. Oh, no. I don't think I can ask this one,” he turned very red in the face again. He dropped the accent again as well. So much for practicing.

“What is it?” I asked, very curious. Nothing had even slowed him down much with the others.

He said it in a hushed tone, covering the mic with his hand. “Does the carpet match the drapes?”

I laughed loudly, “I've never dyed my hair before. So, take from that what you will.”

“Oh god,” he kind of half laughed as he rubbed his eyes. Edward was actually visibly sweating. “Okay. Okay, um. Moving on. Seventeen. Whit is yer most visited website?”

“The one I put all the photos I take for just me. I spend a lot of time editing and arranging them in groups. I find it really soothing. It’s my meditation.”

“So, ye hav' a personal collection?” He questioned me.

“A massive one, yea. Just because I find something interesting doesn't mean it will sell as a print or poster,” I told him honestly. “I'm always surprised at what sells. All my friends and family can see them though. They're not private or anything.”

“I want to see them,” he said normally. “If that's okay. I really like what you're selling.”

“I can send you the link later,” I assured him with a smile. “And, If you see anything you really like I can put it in the shop.”

“Yas, thenks. Question eighteen. Whit is yae guilty pleasure?” His accent returned.

“Um... Guilty pleasures usually refer to food and I actually have a really hard time keeping on weight so I kind of just eat everything and as much as I want. And I don't feel guilty about anything I do that gives me pleasure, to be honest.” I laughed a little. “I do try to not keep the worst stuff out of the house because I will eat it all, but when I do get it I never feel bad. Life is too short. Don't deny yourself pleasure.”

Edward cleared his throat., “question nineteen. Whit is yer favorite drink?”

I think he could have guessed this answer. “Coffee.”

He smiled a little. “Last question. Book o' telly?”

“Audiobook.” 

He voice went back to his normal enthusiastic video one. “Fantastic! And, there we have it! If you enjoyed this interview and would like to see the extended version you can visit my page, Eddie Cullen dot com and for just a five dollar donate you can unlock unlimited access to tons of bonus content for a whole month! And best of all is that one hundred percent of donations are given to the charity of the month! So, please like, subscribe, and don't forget to hit the notifications button! Buh-bye!” He paused for a moment. “Bella, why don't you do a blurb about your website? I can add it in as an end card to anything you're in so you just don't have to keep repeating it.”

“Hi, my name is Bella Swan and I am a freelance photographer from New York City. If you're interested in purchasing a print, postcard, mug, canvas, or something else equally cool you can visit my website Swan Photography dot com. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram at the same name. Thanks! Bye!”

Edward removed his mic. 

“My goodness. What a video that's going to be. Don't worry, I'll not put anything too personal. I promise.”

“It's fine. I don't mind. I wouldn't have told you if I was uncomfortable with it,” I stood and went to retrieve my camera. I needed to put something in my hands. 

“Thank you for being so open,” he said, genuine and kind. His face was warm and soft, his bright green eyes sparkling as he looked at me from over his video camera. I felt a little exposed myself and did the only thing I knew to do.

I took his picture. 

“You're welcome.” 

 

So here we learn more about our Bella and see some of the fun videos he’s making online. Sad but hopeful Bella, charming Edward. I love writing these two so much. Their banter… sigh. 

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter five- 

 

I woke up a little after seven in the morning despite setting my alarm for eight. The sun was just completely up and the sunshine was quickly burning off the morning fog. I laid there for a long time, staring up at the ceiling while I tried to force myself to wake up. The bed was extremely comfortable and very cushiony, as were the pillows. The sheets were buttery indulgently soft cotton white and the comforter was a thin gray feather down. It was nicer than any hotel, certainly.

I looked over the schedule he emailed me before for the week on my phone from the comfort of my bed to double check the work times. He was filming later with a small crew, two other guys apparently. They were filming for three different videos at three different locations, two restaurants, and a tattoo parlor. I could only assume what they would be about.

I also looked at Instagram, Facebook, a couple of news sites and the weather. There was a zero percent chance of rain for the next five days in Los Angeles. The same could not be said for Queens. 

It was after ten in New York so Alice would be awake. It was a Tuesday so she would be going into the office at noon, probably. Normally I would be making her breakfast right about then. My stomach knew it, too. It would wait because of my laziness though.

“What's for breakfast?” I texted her. 

“I'm going to stop by the bodega and get something. Probably a pack of doughnuts and an iced coffee. What about you?” She texted back almost instantly. If I knew her she was sitting half-naked from the shower, playing on her phone, and avoiding getting ready. She could be so lazy sometimes. We both could.

“Granola bar and an orange or two. Hot coffee. He doesn't have anything in his kitchen. It's a little weird, tbh.”

“Well, he is a single young guy. I'm not surprised. How is he? Is he terrible? Weird? Smells like Axe body spray? A secret Swiss cheese pervert?”

I actually laughed out loud. “He's very nice, honestly. Downright charming, even. I thought it would be stranger staying in his house but he's been really gracious so far. And he's refusing to let me pay for any of my food while I'm here so I'm going to take advantage and get free food. I need the money.”

“That's nice. He has the money. How his house?”

“Beautiful. I can't wait to show you. It's kind of bare, furniture and decoration wise, in some spots though. But, he's just starting out living on his own. I have to tell you though that I have a deep personal connection with the bathrooms. They move me. They make me aspire to have better showers.”

“You mean ice cold weak ass spurts of the Hudson river AREN'T your ideal shower?” She teased, speaking of one of our frequent water woes. The joys of living in an old building.

“Shocking! I know! I mean, it makes my hair look great but that ain't no way to live.”

“That's the truth. So, what are you two doing today?” She typed back quickly. Everyone typed faster than me.

“He's making videos today. I don't know much more than that. He won't be up for a while though. I woke up too early and he sleeps really late,” I typed from under my covers.

“Your body clock is still in New York.”

“Right, and it'll correct itself just in time for me to fly back. And it'll take me a week to fix it again,” I complained. It happened every time I traveled anywhere.

“Are you at least having a good time?”

I thought about it for a second. “Yeah, I am.”

“Good. Getting any good pictures?”

“Yeah, Eddie is easy to photograph. He enjoys it and is a really good model. He knows his own angles.”

“Is he as hot as he seems in person?” I snickered when I saw the words on the screen.

“Omg, super hot. He's like seven feet tall and all muscle even though he eats like a trash panda. I think I kind of want to have his babies. Our children would be both beautiful and be able to eat anything they wanted. My dream come true.”

Alice's reply was almost instant. “Girl, his babies would rip you apart. #tinygirlproblems”

I laughed out again. She wasn't wrong at all. “He'd probably rip me apart, are you fucking kidding? He's a damn giant.”

“#worthit?” 

“#ow,” I replied back. “#savethevag.”

“I know it's been a while. But... you know... If you're going to get back in the saddle you might as well start with someone hung like a horse” 

I snorted quietly and rubbed my forehead while I thought of how to answer her. “You so stupid. #youneedjesus #noponyplaypls”

“Unless Jesus is a fine looking Latino man I don't need him. I need to go to work though. Send me some pictures later. I wanna see everything.”

“K. Have a good day,” I replied and put my phone back onto the charger. I made sure my spare batteries were charged and in my camera bag as well. I was probably going to need those later in the day. 

I did a quick workout then took a long drawn out shower. I must have been in there for thirty minutes, at least. Letting the conditioner sit in my hair, I stood in the middle of the streams with my eyes closed. It was so soothing. I could have slept standing up.

The house was almost eerily quiet as I padded down to his kitchen in sock covered feet. It was kind of fun sliding across the wooden floor. The coffee things he had bought for me the day before were still sitting on the kitchen bar in their boxes. I removed the coffee grinder and french press from their cardboard boxes and washed them thoroughly. I washed the new mugs and the spoons in his sink as well. I didn't know where he wanted the salt, sugar, or coffee beans so I just left them on the counter. 

I only made a small pot, just enough for me to have a couple of cups of coffee. When I was about halfway through my first mug Edward came out of his room. He sniffed the air dramatically, lifting his chin up high as he did.

“That makes the whole house smell so good,” he told me as he sat down at the bar.

“Would you like a cup?” I offered.

“Yes, please.”

“How do you take it?” I asked, pulling out one of the freshly washed mugs from the drain. 

“A little sugar, a little creamer,” he looked so tired.

“One or two sugars?”

“Two.”

“The creamer is sweet,” I warned. 

“I know,” he smiled like a child. “Otherwise it would be three. Or, five.”

When he took his first sip he loudly groaned before taking another, “this is the best coffee I've had since last time I was in Australia. How did you do that?”

“Oh, it's not hard. I'll show you,” I started the kettle again and washed the french press clean of the last batch. “First, you need coffee grounds. You need a generously heaping tablespoon per six-ounce cup you want to make. Not your monster mugs. A normal cup size,” I ground some beans up in the little bean grinder. It only took a couple of seconds and a few pulses. “Course, not too fine. You want it chunky or it'll get through the filter.” I measured for four mugs and added a small pinch of kosher salt.

“Salt, really?” He seemed surprised. 

“Just a little. Salt literally makes everything better,” I told him. 

When the kettle was done I took it off the burner for a few seconds to lower the temperature of the water just a little below boiling. I poured the hot water just over the grounds, halfway full in the carafe. I set a timer on my phone for a minute. “So, you need to bloom the coffee which just means get it wet to wake it up. Jesus, that's what she said,” I muttered to myself, making him laugh softly. “Anyway, once your minute is up, add the rest of the water to the top and set another timer for three minutes.”

“Would you say this is quicker than a machine?” He asked, curiously.

I thought about it. “Than a pod machine? No, but they're gross. A drip, maybe. It's a little more work but it's worth it, I think. I'm not sure, I've not compared them recently.”

When the time was up I pressed down the plunger slowly, pushing all the grounds to the bottom. I poured him some more coffee in his large mug that was now empty. I prepared it with cream and sugar before passing it back to him. 

“So, that's it? That doesn't seem that complicated at all. And to think I've been trying to get used to the shitty coffee you people have here!” He commented after he took another drink, “no offense.”

“Obviously I'm not one of those people,” I teased him dryly.

“Well, yeah. Obviously. God, this fan-fucking-tastic.,” he moaned before slurping some down. “Thank you.”

“I told you coffee was my favorite drink.”

Someone knocked 'shave and a haircut' on the door before Edward's front door swung open, making me jump in surprise. He seemed unfazed though. The door banged against the wall, making a loud echo down the foyer and hall. 

“Hey, Boss!” A short probably Asian young man said loudly. He was short, with dark almond-shaped eyes and black hair. He was well groomed and wore nicer casual clothes. Even his sneakers were perfectly white. He was extremely stylish. Behind him was a tall thin man with a scruffy face and slicked back hair mousy brown hair. He was very pale and he had deep circles under his brown eyes. The taller one was thin to the point of almost gaunt. He smiled at me cheerfully. 

“Hey,” Edward answered him. “Sorry, I'm not ready yet. I got distracted,” he stood up from the bar. “Seth. Tyler. This is Bella, the photographer I was telling you about. Bella, this Seth,” he pointed out the shorter gentlemen who rushed over to shake my hand. The tall one came over and did the same but calmly with large slow strides. “And, that's Tyler. It's okay if you confuse them for one another. They're obviously very hard to tell apart. ”

“I mean, we're practically twins,” Tyler said quietly with a small smile on his long face. His eyes were small and they seem to close when he spoke. 

I giggled softly, “hi, lovely to meet you. Just let me know if I ever get in your way.”

“Are you going to join us in the videos?” Tyler asked pleasantly. “We have a lot of fun together when we make them.” 

I looked over at Edward and shrugged in an answer. “I enjoyed doing them yesterday but it's up to him, of course. He's the boss. I'm just here to take pictures and not get in the way.”

“Absolutely not in the way! More the merry,” Edward said cheerfully. “Alright, let me go get dressed. I'll be right back,” and he rushed off, his bare feet smacking on the floor as he went. 

“Is there any coffee left?” Seth asked me eagerly, eyeing Edward's empty mug. 

“Sure is.” I pulled out another clean mug. “Tyler, would you care for some, too?”

“Yes, ma'am,” he answered politely. 

“Are you from the south?” I asked as he came to sit down at the bar. 

“My parents and I are from Tennessee but I grew up all over. I was an army brat. How could you tell?” He asked. “ I don't have much of an accent.”

“You're so polite. You were either southern or Canadian. Ma'am gives it away, though,” I smiled at him, friendly.

Tyler nodded his head thoughtfully.“So, you're from New York? Did you grow up there? You don't sound like a yankee.”

“No, I grew up outside of Houston in a little town about an hour away.”

“Is this your first time in LA?” Seth asked. 

“Yeah. I've been to California but I went to San Francisco for a volunteering thing I do.”

“I'm from San Francisco,” Seth said excitedly. “Did you do all the fun tourist shit? See the bridge?”

“Oh yeah. It was a... bridge. It's impressive, I guess,” I made a little face. “I was kind of worried the entire time I'd see someone jump off. It actually gave me a lot of anxiety,” I admitted to him. “I'm kind of morbid that way,” I said as a way of a little warning.

“I'd be paranoid, too. People try to jump there all the damn time. I think they put nets up and that helps but you know how people are,” Seth took his cup and thanked me. I took the milk and creamers from the fridge so they could make their drinks how they liked. 

“It seems like such a terrible way to die, jumping off a bridge. You have time to regret what you have done and know that it's going to hurt when you hit the water. I can't imagine,” I shook the images of my head as I thought of the freezing San Francisco Bay. I had never been one to be suicidal. Life ended too quickly on its own.

“I'm gone for five minutes and you're already talking about killing yourselves?” Edward joked when he came out. He was wearing a nice pair of dark tight jeans that reminded me of the ones you'd see in Texas. The expensive wannabe cowboy jeans. He was wearing a blue button-down shirt and a black vest as well. I felt instantly underdressed. 

“Do I need to wear nicer clothes?” I asked, looking at my flannel and tank top combination with jeans. 

“No, you're fine. He's just a fancy bitch,” Seth joked. Edward laughed, throwing his head back dramatically with his hands on his hips. 

“Ha. Ha. Har. Fuck you, sir. I am not a bitch,” he said in an English accent.

“No, he's a hipster,” Tyler interjected evenly. Edward clutched his imaginary pearl necklace. 

“Take that back!”

“If he could grow a mustache, he'd have one of those goofy handlebar ones,” Seth laughed as he imagined it. 

“No. No, I would not. My best mate Jasper has one and it's stupid. Why are you teasing me in front of the pretty girl?” Edward pretended to be wounded. I gently patted his shoulder as I walked by. 

“I'm not a girl. I'm a woman,” I noted as I walked to go get my camera and my shoes. I heard Seth and Tyler viciously continue to tease him as I went. 

“Right! She's a woman, you chauvinist swine! She's a guest in your home and you're STILL making her make the coffee for you?” Seth was fake insulted on my behalf. “You know, he thought you were a dude,” he shouted down the hall after me.

“I didn't know! My manager kept saying ‘he’ and Swan Photography doesn’t tell you a whole lot about gender, thank you! Not that it matters. And, I didn't ask her to!” He defended himself. “I mean, kinda, but not like that!”

“It's surprising, especially coming from a man with four older sisters. You'd think they would have beaten it out of him,” Tyler added, speaking directly to Seth who was shaking his head and had his arms crossed. I could see them as I came back down the hall.

“My sisters never beat me. They loved me and babied me. And, played with me all the time like I was a damn dress up Barbie doll,” he mumbled the last part to himself.

“And, that's why you are a fancy bitch now,” I replied as I came back into the room with my shoes slipped on and my camera bag over my shoulder. 

Tyler and Seth cackled in pleasure at me teasing their friend. I smiled at him innocently. Well, he had said he liked my acerbic wit.

“So, no vest then? Is this what we're trying to say? As meanly as possible?” He asked me directly, very sarcastically. I nodded with a little smile. 

I reached up to undo another button down on his shirt after he removed his vest and tossed it to the side. He almost looked uncomfortable the way he had it before. I adjusted his collar a little. “That's better.”

“Thanks,” he said very quietly with a smile. Edward cleared his throat. “Alright, let's get this show on the road.”

Our first stop was a doughnut shop known for its fancy pastries and weird flavor combinations. We were coming later in the afternoon to avoid the morning rush. We toured their kitchens and they showed us each product they handmade. They had Edward decorate doughnuts with icing and bacon, something that made him very happy. 

“American bacon is very different from the rest of the world's bacon, but I really like it,” he said into the camera as Tyler filmed and Seth held a boom mic to help with the audio. “It's super crispy,” he took a big bite of bacon, making a mess as it shattered to bits in his hands. “Shit!”

They would take turns in different spots for different takes. They seem to know what they were doing and the tempo was all set by Edward. When they set up for the taste test part of the video I took pictures all around the closed restaurant. I took maybe two hundred pictures of the colorful and weird breakfast foods. When I finally sat down for my part in the video I had already taken close to five hundred pictures. We weren't even halfway through the day. 

I sat very close to Edward on the bench at a table covered in doughnuts. “Okay, we're all set?” He asked me with a small smile.

“Ready when you are,” I replied.

“Alright. And three, two one... I'm so excited to be joined today by my new friend, Bella!” He motioned to me grandly.

“Hi,” I smiled and waved to the camera. 

“So, do you like doughnuts?” He asked like a late night host. I gave my best interview voice like I had practiced in the shower a million times when I gave my pretend interviews. 

“I do! I love them. I grew up eating them a lot. Texas is big into doughnuts so there are little family shops everywhere. We took a few dozen doughnuts to church with us every Sunday morning. My grandmother would make them herself.”

“Every Sunday?” He seemed genuinely surprised. 

“Yup, for the church elders who came in early and got ready for services. Someone would make coffee and bring juice and milk. My grandma brought doughnuts.”

“That's a lot of doughnuts. So, what's your favorite?”

I worried my lip as I thought of my answer. “My favorite fried doughnut is probably just a good glazed or chocolate. A cake one would be blueberry glazed. I like traditional flavors. But, there are none I dislike really.”

“What do you think the best doughnut drink is?” He asked. “I mean, drink to have with a doughnut.”

“If it's a cold day, hot chocolate. If it's hot like right now, whole white milk or chocolate milk. I like both.”

“I'm surprised you didn't say coffee! You have a detailed answer for everything,” Edward laughed, charming and sweet. “I love it. Alright, so, we've got a dozen of their most popular flavors and we've got a plate and a knife. We're going to cut up these babies and eat as much sugar as we possibly can.”

We took turns trying each flavor and giving our reactions over it. By the seventh one, there was a mild sugar buzz rushing in the back of my head and I'm pretty sure I had chocolate on my face. Seth and Tyler tried them as well, giving their reactions while Edward filmed. I took pictures as he did. 

The whole thing was so much fun. Everyone was laughing and covered in sugar. The baker was more than happy to get the positive attention from Edward's video. It would probably get ten million views in just a few days. It would bring in hundreds of new customers. 

The shop gave them a few boxes of the doughnut to take with us when we finally left. We had been there for maybe three hours in total. It didn't really feel like work though. I was having a great time. 

The next restaurant was a traditional Korean barbeque. It smelled like heaven. Korean was probably one of my favorite foods. Or well, any Asian was. The inside was sleek and very modern looking, everything bright and clean. The owner was a young man whose parents were from South Korea and he was raised in LA. 

This one we didn't tour the kitchen. This video was all about eating. The restaurant was known for its large family meal that was supposed to serve at least eight. There was only four of us. 

The meal included Bulgogi, Gabli, and a whole marinated and crispy fried duck. It was served with Kimbap in three different styles. As well a whole host of sides including the best kimchi I had ever eaten and a fire hot cast iron bowl filled with soft white rice that was now perfectly browned on the bottom. Everything was served with buchimgae, little Korean pancakes. 

Seth sat in the center and explained everything enthusiastically. He gave a monologue about growing up a mixed kid with a Chinese Korean mom and a white father and how his mother cooked every day and the foods he ate as a kid. And he ended with, “but, honestly, I just wanted to come here to eat all this amazing food and not have to pay for it myself.”

“Here here,” I clinked my teacup against his beer. 

We ate for a solid hour. The doughnuts before had been a dozen bites spread over an hour period. But there was so much food to try at this place. And, I loved all of it. Seth praised my chopstick skills. We pinched at each other for several minutes after going after the same dumpling. 

“Thanks. My mother in law taught me,” I told him as I waved about a piece of broccoli like a savage. My grandmother would have been horrified. 

“Is she Asian?” He asked.

I laughed. “No, Jewish.”

“Meh, close enough,” Tyler said dryly from behind the camera. I was going to really like him. They were all very funny. Edward was clearly having a great time as well. Tyler was the designated driver so the two boys tried a few different kinds of Korean beer. 

I was stuffed to the very brim. There was so much food to take back with us, in probably a half a dozen boxes. Seth claimed it all for himself. It was going to be his dinner for the week.

Each man was a natural in front of and behind the camera. They all worked very well together and encouraged me to take as many pictures of possible. Sometimes they would even point out pictures for me to take. By the time we had left my photo count was over fifteen hundred. 

“We're not supposed to be to the tattoo shop for an hour and I need to walk all this off. I think there is a nice park on the way. Let's stop there. It'll get a good place for Bella to take pictures,” Edward suggested with a hand on his full stomach. He sat in the passenger seat beside Tyler. “It's going to be sunset soon though.”

“That would be good,” I agreed. “Dusk is the best time to take pictures.”

Tyler and Seth set off to take background shots for the videos with their cameras, going in separate directions. Edward decided he wanted to go walk around the trail that looped the park. It was just starting to turn orange with light streaks of pink in the sky. 

“So, how is it going?” He asked me, looking back over his shoulder just as I took his picture in the perfect light.

“Good,” I answered as I took his picture again, this time of him smiling and almost looking shy. “Sick of me yet?”

“Not at all. I like working with you. You're a natural.”

“You think?” I asked. 

He stopped at a statue of someone I didn't know and leaned against it. “Yes. You're very well spoken.”

“I took speech and drama in school. I'm pretty good at turning on that Texas Beauty Queen voice when I need to,” I took his picture as he watched me. His arms crossed over his chest as it began to get a little breezy. Goosebumps crawled up my arms.

“Texas beauty queen?” Edward questioned curiously.

I turned on my thickest, sweetest, accent, making my eyes real wide as I smiled, “hi there! My name is Bella Marie and I'm from Harris County, Texas! My hobbies include music, dancing, and cooking! My talents include playing the fiddle AND the banjo! Yeahaw, y'all,” I deadpanned the last two words.

He actually threw his head back in laughter at my silly voice. 

“Oh, my god. Yes, you're right. You are good at that.”

“Are you laughing at my real accent?” I said very seriously. His eyes grew wide in worry before I laughed. “It is, though. My real accent. It's okay, it's funny as fuck.”

He looked at me a little bashfully, his hands rubbing up against his arms because it was starting to get chilly. “It's cute, I like it.”

“Well, I'm glad someone does. It's terrible. Anyway, what are we doing at the tattoo shop, exactly?” I asked him, changing the subject because I felt flustered at his compliment. 

He pushed off the statue. “I'm getting my first tattoo.”

“And, you're filming the experience?” I questioned.

“Of course. Then I can write it off as a tax expense,” Edward joked.

I rolled my eyes at his answer. “What are you getting?”

“Cullen family crest on my chest,” he placed his hand somewhere over his heart. “The artist designed it for me already. I'm really excited. It's pretty sweet.” 

“And this is your very first? Any piercings or anything?”

“Nope. None,” he shook his head.

“Oh, boy,” I laughed and smiled at him. “Good luck with that. I hope it's small.”

“Hurting myself always gets more views. It's fine,” he answered, a little too self-aware. “I don't think I want any piercings though. I don't think I could care for them properly. I'd probably lose an ear.”

“I have a bunch,” I lifted my hair to reveal my rows of simple studs I was currently sporting. There were three in each ear in a neat little row. 

“Do they hurt?” He brushed his hand just against the edge of my hair so he could get a better look at my earrings. 

I held my head very still so he could look. “Of course when you get them. They don't hurt afterward unless you don't take care of them.”

“They look nice on you.”

I smoothed my hair back over my shoulder.

“Thanks.”

We walked in silence for a while. There was starting to be a hint of purple as the orange and pink became more intense along the horizon. The palm trees swayed in the wind. We stopped so I could take just the perfect picture of the sunset. I put my camera away once it became too dark. Street lights came on just as we reached an empty playground. 

Together we each sat on the swings, side by side. 

“So, you were interested in drama?” Edward asked me suddenly. “You took it in school, yeah?”

“Yeah, in high school and some college. Just a little. I don't think I was that good,” I told him honestly. “I never had a lead role in anything. Just supporting roles. Chorus line, usually.”

He shrugged. “Well, maybe that's because you're just supposed to be yourself in front of the camera.”

“Are you yourself in front of the camera?” I leaned my forehead against the chain, looking at him.

“No,” he shook his head. “I am a character of myself.”

“You are more self-aware than I'd imagine you be from your videos,” I told him truthfully. “I mean that as a compliment even if it doesn't sound like it. I'd imagine most celebrities aren't self-aware.”

Edward scoffed quietly.

“Do you really think I'm a celebrity?”

“Why else would I be here?”

“Good point,” he dug his feet into the small pebbles under the swings. “I'm still kinda feeling new to this.”

“Don't worry. Me too,” I said quietly, swallowing back some of my nervousness so I could give him a little reassuring smile.

Thankfully Seth came to save us from our awkward silence. It was time to head to the tattoo shop. 

It was in a strip mall and the outside wasn't much to look at, but the inside of the shop was very clean with hundreds of tattoos on the wall on posters or in frames. 

Edward spoke to the owner of the shop who was doing the art himself. They talked about the things you should know before and how to take care of them for the camera. 

“Tyler doesn't have any tattoos but I know Seth has a couple. Do you have any, Bella?” Edward asked me, catching me off guard because I was behind the camera. 

“I have a ton,” I answered, coming around for the camera because he motioned for me to do so. “I tend to put them in places that are easy to hide though.”

“How many do you have?” He asked.

“Oh, um, a few dozen? At least. I'm not sure. Some are really small,” I tried to count in my head but quickly gave up.

“Can I see any of them?” Edward asked curiously. 

“Um, sure,” I said kicked off my shoes and removed my socks. I pulled up my blue jeans, showing the ones on the tops of my feet and ankles. Each foot had several stars across them, colored in a rainbow. I had a little black dragon high on one ankle and a series of little tattoos I called my charms that were for different things that had happened in my life. I removed my flannel shirt, placing it carefully on my bag so it wouldn't touch the floor. I pulled up my shirt to show the variety on my back and belly. Roses, lilies, and pansies decorated my shoulder blade. The other had a watercolor version of an old-fashioned camera. It had been a birthday present. A lot of them had been. “I've got more but I'd have to take my clothes off to show you.”

“Holy shit! I had no idea!” Edward exclaimed loudly. He stopped himself from touching me, pulling his fingers back at the last minute.

“I try to look professional.”

“I love them though!” He said as he looked over my back and stomach. The artist looked at them as well, touching me with gloved hands. He traced his finger over the vintage bakeware pattern on my ribs. It was orange and red, just like my grandmother's favorites.

“This is some quality ink,” The artist told me, impressed. 

“Thanks. I've spent thousands over the years. I'd love something new but I've been broke the past couple of years now,” I told him honestly as he looked at my cross stitch rainbow heart with a needle 'sticking' into it that was under my left breast.

“Yo, do you think you could give her a tattoo after me as well?” Edward asked the tattoo artist. “For the video.”

“If you pay for it, I can do whatever you want,” the guy answered. “I'd normally be closed right now, so I don't have any appointments coming in.”

“Are you serious?” I asked Edward. 

“Yeah, if you want one. Do you know what you'd like to get?” He asked me seriously. 

“I know exactly what I want to get,” I pulled my phone from my pocket and brought up a picture I had taken. It was of a bejeweled butterfly, lined in rose gold. “It'd like it as jewel-toned as possible with blues, greens, and purples like this,” I explained. “Is that possible?”

“Yeah, Mama. I got you. Where you want it?” The artist grinned at me.

“Collarbone, just below,” I showed him, pushing the strap of my shirt to the side. “About three inches across.”

“Let me work on his piece and I'll hook you up after.”

Edward was visibly nervous by the time he got shirtless in the chair. I hadn't realized just how well muscled and defined his chest was until that point. His arms didn't really give it all away. He didn't have an eight-pack by any means but his shoulders and chest were broad and well toned. He was obviously sucking his stomach in for the camera though. Not that I blamed him.

I felt heat creep up my neck as I took pictures of him in the chair from a half a dozen angles. I took pictures with my macro lens as the artist laid down the stencil and afterward when he pressed the needle into Edward’s flesh for the first time.

It took about a minute of the needle for him to go, “motherfucker!”

“Doing okay, boss?” Seth asked with a chuckle from behind the camera. Clearly, he was unconcerned.

“It feels like I'm being stabbed a million times in a row in the chest by a very tiny needle,” he said very sarcastically.

“Explaining things to you very accurately in an Australian accent, brought to you by Eddie Cullen,” I said directly into the camera, making Tyler chuckle. 

“Come for the quality content, stay for the sexy accent,” Edward said with a scrunched up nose as the artist filled in the black background of the crest. He was clearly in pain.

“That's probably going to be the worst part,” I told him as I examined the outline he was filling in. “The rest is going to be quick little swipes with a smaller needle.”

“She right,” the artist agreed, wiping away some ink with a paper towel. Edward was bleeding a little bit. “Breathe, man. You're holding your breath.”

“Eddie,” I got his attention because he was looking a little panicked, to be honest. “In through your nose, hold it and count to four, let it out through your mouth slowly. Repeat.”

I breathed with him for several seconds. He became less tense. The tattoo was quickly coming together. It was a black shield with an outline of a lion raised in attack. The outside was lined with red and black ribbons and tiny red roses on black vines circling it. 

His eyes were actually watering. Towards the end of the crest work he really started using more interesting combinations of curse words. “Holy mother of shit fuckers, you ball-less twat monkey!”

“A ball-less twat monkey?” Seth asked, confused and bemused. “Where in your brain comes up with these?”

“The same place that comes up with terrible video ideas that hurt me,” he complained, his eyes closed. “Why do you have so many tattoos? How?”

“I like pain,” I answered mildly, earning a groan from him. He didn't open his eyes.

“Fucking obviously.”

I chuckled at his answer, “it's not that bad, you big baby. You're just a big ham.”

“It hurts.”

“Try having it done on your feet. Or, ribs,” I told him. “You'll be fine. Just stopping tensing up and breathe. Pain is in the mind.”

He complained the entire time and yet he loved the results at the end. I took close up pictures of the tattoo and of his face, of the blood that was just pooling at the surface mixed with ink. I think I liked the ones of him making hurt faces better. They were funnier. 

The artist had to clean up and design my tattoo real quick so we had a few minutes of downtime. We decided to bring some of the doughnuts in from the car and have a snack. The artist had one as well as he worked on the line art. Tyler was going to take the rest home with him since Seth got the Korean. He was going to take them to his girlfriend.

When it was my turn I took off my flannel shirt again and laid it on top of my camera bag along with my camera. 

“Where do you want it?” He asked as he held up the temporary stencil to put on. I tried to adjust my shirt and bra but it wasn't working at all.

I removed my tank top and put it on my other shirt. I had a sports bra on so I removed the right strap from my shoulder and tucked it into my bra. Carefully I showed him the spot, adjusting it just so. I didn't realize until after the artist had put it on that the boys were all very quiet. Both Tyler and Seth were filming, their faces obscured by the camera. Edward looked utterly shocked though. 

“What?” I asked as I laid back in the chair. Grabbing my shirts, I tucked them under my head for a pillow. 

“What? Oh? Um, nothing,” Edward shook his head. He was trying very hard not to look at my chest. “You've got a lot of tattoos. Do they all have stories?”

“Some do. They represent events and people. But, not all them. Sometimes a girl just likes cute ass little dragons when she's eighteen.” 

He smiled at my answer.

Edward sat beside me on a stool, chatting with me as I got tattooed. “Maybe I am a bitch,” he told me as I practically nodded off with one of my arms draped over my eyes. He seemed almost annoyed with himself at that point.

“But you're a fancy one,” I assured him with a little yawn.

 

 

Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six-

 

I woke up at five in the morning and groaned in pain. I laid there in bed for several seconds before I remembered why my shoulder hurt the way it did. It wasn't intense, but my collarbone throbbed a little. Stumbling to the bathroom in the dark, I flicked on the light. It was blinding and I grunted again in annoyance, my hand flying up to cover my eyes. My hair was everywhere, half of it in a halo two inches around my head. I looked insane with a large pillow indent lines on my face.

Standing in front of the mirror I carefully removed the bandage for my new tattoo. There was a little ink and blood on the cotton pad but not much. Carefully, with the soap the artist gave me, I washed the tattoo twice, just to make sure it was extra clean. Gingerly I dabbed it with a towel before rubbing the lotion for it into my tender flesh. It would take a few days for the worst scabs to form but for the moment my bejeweled butterfly was extra fresh and shiny. I made sure to rub the extra lotion on the rest of my ink that I could easily reach. 

I loved my new tattoo. It was hyper-realistic and looked like an actual jeweled brooch pinned to my bare chest. I took a half dozen pictures to show Alice later when she was awake with my phone.

I couldn't fall back asleep so I worked for a while on the pictures I had taken the evening before. Edward took my camera at some point and started taking pictures of me and the shop. Some of them weren't terrible, especially with some decent editing. He was so tall that the pictures were from a wildly different angle from my own. I liked them.

In all for the previous day, I took over three thousand pictures. I was giving myself a ridiculous amount of work. So, of course, I gave myself more.

I took pictures of the sunrise over his pool and the exquisite mountains. The sunlight was beautiful as it began to pour over the city. It was perfectly golden and lovely. 

I had my coffee outside, enjoying the serenity. You couldn't get that kind of quiet in Queens, probably not even at three in the morning. 

After working out I showered and dressed nicely for the day in my loosest blouse. We would be going to the recording studio that day so that he could do his voiceover for a cartoon series. He would be doing his entire part in just two days worth of work for a whole twenty-episode series. This was his second day, having recorded a couple of weeks before for it already. He had to be there just after noon, Twelve fifteen pm to be exact, and he didn't come out of his room until just after eleven in the morning. 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” he mumbled in a rush. “I should have been up sooner. We'll stop for something to eat on the way,” Edward shoved his keys into his pocket as well as his wallet from the bowl on the table in the foyer. He yawned widely before rubbing his thumbs deep into his eyes several times. “I couldn't sleep.”

“That sucks. I woke up at five,” I said sympathetically.

He looked horrified on my behalf. “Jesus, I'm sorry.”

“Oh, it's fine. My body is still used to home. Time zone and everything. I got pictures of the sunrise, though. It was gorgeous.”

“Oh, well, that's good then. I can't wait to see them,” he smiled awkwardly.

The studio wasn't far away. We went to a bagel shop that was on the way. I ordered a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese with fresh fruit and yogurt. I always enjoyed a good breakfast for lunch. Edward bought himself an egg sandwich on an everything bagel. He waited to eat it until we were in the parking lot of the studio, ten minutes before he was supposed to be inside. 

“I must seem a little bit of a mess,” he said through a bite of his sandwich, looking forward at the building almost nervously.

“Why would I think that?” I offered him a bite of my fruit. He took a slice of melon. All of the fruit was really fresh and sweet.

“I sleep till almost noon every day. I'm not that organized,” he took a bite of sandwich, “I'm kind of winging it.”

I shook my head, “I don't care when you sleep. You work hard, so you do you. And, you're here early, so I don't see how this is disorganized. I don't judge you for it, you're doing better than me. That's for sure.”

“I don't like rushing.”

I shrugged, “no one does. And, everyone is winging it. Just so you know.”

“I suppose that's true,” he said thoughtfully into his hot tea before drinking it down in one long gulp. I hoped it wasn't too hot. Edward just continued to look forward as he slowly ate. 

“You really are anxious, aren't you?” I asked him curiously. “That sounds insulting. I don't mean it to be. I mean, I'm anxious, too. I understand how you feel. Don't worry. Don't listen to the little voices, you're doing just fine. I'm not judging you,” I promised him.

He glanced over and smiled, “you've been in therapy.”

“Oh, for years and years. Can't you tell?” I smiled slightly. “It sucks but I get it.”

Edward sighed and then took a deep breath. 

“I need to get in there.”

“You got this,” I assured him quietly, “I'm excited to see you do your work. I have no idea how any of this is done so you'll have to teach me everything.”

He got out of the car and opened my door for me. 

“It's easy. I stand in a black closet and make crazy noises for several hours straight.”

“Sounds exciting,” I said dryly. 

“Very,” he opened the front door to the building for me. 

The building was rather nondescript on the outside but the inside it was decorated with prints of cartoons all over the walls and insultingly bright carpet. As soon as we walked in the build there was an assistant rushing us back to wherever Eddie was recording. My presence was already known about because they handed me a visitor's pass with my name on it. 

Edward was quickly set up in a room and I sat on the opposite side of some glass to watch him work. There were several people in there with me of various ages, genders, and nationalities. I took pictures of them, and him, while they were working. I had to be careful not to bother anyone. No one seemed to mind me though. I was quiet and wasn't using a flash.

Watching him work was so interesting. He was so talented. His voice did things I didn't quite understand and it could be so different for one moment to the next. The director, a little black woman with amazing short cotton white hair, had him do takes in several ways and praising each before trying another. At one point he screamed comically for an hour.

They worked for two hours solid before Edward had to stop for something to drink and a bathroom break. He chatting with the director who was talking about a future project they were going to work on together for another television show. I took a picture from my low spot in my corner chair, looking up at them talking to each other thoughtfully about what they wanted out of a character. He was so passionate as he spoke. His movements were extremely animated. The director was clearly engaged with what he was saying too.

I had no idea what he was recording for, he couldn't tell me yet, but his character was hilarious. And, from what I could guess, a terrible maybe villain? Or, maybe just the group asshole? I wasn't sure. They worked for another five solid hours before they decided to finally call it a wrap for the evening. If they needed him to record anything else they would call him in later. 

It was just after eight in the evening when he was done. Our food from earlier was long gone. Edward decided he wanted to eat right away, having been on his feet all day and already tired. So we stopped to eat at a little family-owned pizza joint. We sat in a small corner at a red gingham cloth covered table under a huge Tiffany style light. It probably hadn't changed since the seventies. 

I ordered an Arnold Palmer, an iced tea and lemonade, to drink and he got himself a beer. We ordered a pepperoni pizza and he ordered wings to start with. I ordered a salad to go with mine. I needed the vegetables. When it arrived I picked at it with my fork, my cheek in my palm and my elbow on the table. I was exhausted.

“How is it?” He questioned quietly.

I scrunched up my face a little, “it's fine.”

“You don't seem very enthusiastic about it,” his voice was just as tired as he appeared and I felt.

“Oh,” I adjusted in my seat. I didn't want to seem rude about free food. “I don't know, I miss real food. It's fine.”

“This isn't real food?” Edward asked curiously.

“I miss my own cooking, I mean,” I explained. “I'm spoiled to my own food. I don't usually eat out this much in a row anymore. I do the cooking for me and my roommate.”

“What do you like to cook?” He asked as he sipped his beer.

“I try to do healthy stuff but Alice and I are working on being fatties. So, lots of carbs and cheese.”

“So, like pizza,” he chuckled.

“We do pizza a lot,” I admitted. “I do a lot of Tex-Mex. Being Texans it's one of our great loves but you can't get it good anywhere outside of Texas really.”

“What makes it Tex-Mex?”

I laughed quietly as I tried to think about how to explain it.“You see, you stuff it with cheese. Then you deep fry it and then you cover it in a cheese sauce. Then put more shredded cheese on top. Then add salsa and all you can eat chips.”

“Oh, my hips just got wider thinking about it,” he teased in a high pitched Scottish accent.”Oi, I became me Gran there for a sec,” he said in his normally deep voice. I giggled, making him smile. “I eat terribly, too.”

“I've noticed,” I eyed his wings.

“It is literally the only reason I work out.”

I rolled my eyes. “You could afford to pay someone to do that, you know. Cook, I mean.”

“For just me? Seems a waste,” he shook his head as he ate.

I rolled the cherry tomato around with my fork.“Well, you're worth a lot now. Your health is your greatest asset. The healthier you are the more you can work. And you may look great but looks can be deceiving. It's what's inside that counts.” 

I realized I said too much. I was grateful for our pizza's arrival. I hadn't meant to be rude to him.

“You're right. I guess I have to see myself as a product now,” he replied once the waiter had gone.

“That's rather unnerving. But, we're all products in some way. We're always trying to sell ourselves to someone for something. Ugh, depressing,” I took a big bite of pizza. It was fine. I had had much better before. I drizzled some of the hot honey on the table all over my slice. That made it much better. “But, it is always important to care about your health. It's selfish not to.”

“Selfish, how?” He questioned softly.

“People love you. Your family. Friends. They deserve the best you so you can do the best for them. You don't have to be a vegan who works out four hours a day. But you can at least try to eat whole, freshly cooked food, and stuff... not salt soaked cardboard. At least, every once in a while.”

He drank his beer down quickly and ordered water to drink for the rest of the meal.

Edward looked at his plate with a sigh.“You're not wrong. It gives me something to at least consider. I am going to be so busy soon, too. How do you even hire someone to do that, you know?”

“Google is amazing,” I answered dryly.

Edward rubbed the back of his neck with his long fingers. Slowly as he nodded his head. “Oh. Duh. Right. True story. There is probably a website.”

“Probably a few,” I agreed.

“This adulting thing is goddamn tedious. I'm good at getting my bills paid but I lack all the other skills I need, I think.”

I added some red peppers to my slice of pizza. “That's more than some can accomplish. I'll tell you a secret though... it's always going to be something. You can't do everything for yourself all the time. It's okay to delegate and to ask for help.”

“I forget that sometimes,” he said after a long pause.

“Everyone does.”

We didn't speak much for the rest of the meal. 

When arrived back at his home I was so tired I went straight to bed. Within moments of my head hitting on the soft pillow, I was out like a light. 

 

Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter Seven

Trigger warnings for mentions of death and drug use. 

 

Chapter seven- 

 

It was still dark outside when I woke up but I had slept enough. I laid sleepily across the bed, watching the sunrise just as it peaked over the horizon. It was perfect. After my workout, I showered and got ready for our day ahead. There wasn't anything major planned work wise. I had a granola bar, an orange, and some coffee by myself outside by the pool and used this much needed alone time to catch up on the already thousands of pictures I had taken. I would be working on them for several days. That wasn't even counting the ones I was taking just for myself. I put those in a special file to work on later. 

Frankly, I was going to get sick of Edward's stupid handsome face at some point very soon, I was sure. But not yet. I had just figured out the perfect settings in Lightroom with his skin tone and hair.

It was just after noon when I finally saw him emerge from his bedroom. He was covered in sweat from working out in his little home gym and he was shirtless. Edward was going to the kitchen to get himself a drink from the refrigerator. He didn't notice me at first outside, unfortunately. He stood in front of the fridge, drinking from a half gallon jug of milk with one hand on his hip. Slowly his eyes locked on me as he continued to drink and ever so slightly turn his head to the side like a confused puppy. 

I wished I had my camera for it. I wasn't prepared. What a shame. 

“Good morning,” he said cheerfully after coming outside the glass door. Edward still had milk at the corners of his mouth.

“Afternoon,” I answered in return. 

“Meh, close enough,” he waved his hand at me. “So, you said you were sick of eating out and wanted to cook real food, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I looked up at him curiously. 

“Let me shower and we can run to a proper market. I'll buy the groceries if you cook,” he offered.

“Do you have time for that?”

“Yeah. I'm going to do a little recording and editing today but it's all at home. I need a home-cooked meal. I haven't had one in ages. Like real proper food not from a box.”

“What do you want?” I asked. I wasn't too picky and didn't mind making him something he was craving.

Edward just shrugged. 

“You're the chef. You can pick the menu. Carbs and cheese, right? I trust your tastes. Surprise me.”

“I guess we'll go to the store and we'll see what looks good,” I answered, closing my laptop to put away so I could get ready to leave.

While he was in the shower I looked up the nearest grocery store and downloaded it's the app to look for coupons and see what was on sale. He didn't take that long, just combing back his reddish brown hair after his shower. He still seemed steamy fresh from the hot water. His musky scent radiated off of him liked a fresh baked good. It made me want to take a bite.

He bought himself a coffee and snack from the cafe inside the store, eating a sandwich as he walked around the with me. 

First I grabbed some potatoes and a large box of nice looking baby portabella mushrooms that were on a good sale. Next, I picked out some shallots, tomatoes, and a large head of garlic, as well as a bag of baby spinach. I also picked out a small bunch of bananas for breakfast for me the rest of the time I was there. I could not survive on granola and oranges alone.

I also got a bag of mixed salad. I might as well try to pretend to be healthier. I had given the stupidly uncomfortable speech the night before, after all. 

I picked out a couple of nice cheeses from the large fancy cheese section that was right next to the bakery. There I decided on a crunchy dense french bread. The store was upper scale with a huge variety of in-store baked goods. When I couldn't decide I just went basic.

“Do you like chicken?” I asked as we went through the meat section freezers. He was being surprisingly quiet that day. I worried he was getting sick of me already.

“Love chicken,” he said brightly before sipping on his coffee.

“White or dark meat?” I asked thoughtfully I looked through our choices while trying to steal glances in his direction. 

“White, please.”

I picked out a package of split chicken breast with the ribs and skin still on. I selected a few things in the spice aisle and got some real unsalted butter as well as some more milk and heavy cream. Every once in a while he would add something to the cart that was absolute junk. It was better than eating out though.

I said nothing of course. I had been enough of a loudmouth asshole.

Edward wanted ice cream for dessert. We got hot fudge, whipped cream, and cherries to go along with an assortment of flavors that he picked out from the freezer section. He got six different pints. He even mixed brands.

When we got back to his place he helped me put it all away before going to get set up for some videos. He was just making a couple that day. One was weird Asian sodas and the other was weird Kit Kat flavors from Japan. A fan sent them in from Tokyo just so he could try them. He asked me to be in them. I agreed happily. 

So, perhaps not sick of me quite yet hopefully.

I took pictures of him setting up, of the sodas and candy all neatly lined up by him. I took many photos of his lovely hands as he rearranged them for his own photos. I took photos of him acting as his own photographer again.

“Can I do something?” I asked as he arranged them again, unsatisfied. He seemed to be struggling a little. He seemed to be deleting everything he was taking.

“Sure.”

I arranged the candies and took his camera. I changed a couple of settings and knelt down just a bit to get the right angle. I took several pictures, adjusting to do it from a different perspective. I showed him, “the wrappers are reflective so you have to adjust for the glare and by arranging them in pairs with complimentary colors it leads the eye through the picture.”

“Oh, yes. That is better,” he agreed quietly, genuinely pleased. “I don't know much about color, obviously. Thanks.” 

It was amazing to see him change and light up in front of the camera as he began to work. One moment he was bright and bubbly and then it was off like a switch. But, it was so much fun to play with him. Act with him. Be silly with him. We had too much sugar by the end and I laughed so much I spurted soda out of my mouth at one point. Thankfully not a lot. He was purposely trying to get me to do it just like I had done with the milk though.

By the time we were done, it was getting later in the afternoon. Edward needed to work in his office editing so I gave him some space. I went into his kitchen and began to prepare things for dinner since it would take a couple of hours. I turned on his large gas oven and seasoned my chicken so it could sit with the spices marinating into it for a few moments while I chopped and sliced my vegetables. Dicing the little potatoes, I put them onto boil while I was grating the cheeses. 

It was very meditative in a way. 

The potatoes were drained then tossed in a mixture of butter, olive oil, and seasonings before being coated in the mixture of Asiago and Parmesan cheese. They went into an extremely hot oven to cook for almost an hour before being stirred and cooked some more. I started some olive oil and butter in a large skillet and waited until the butter stopped bubbling to add my chicken skin side down into the pan. It hissed and sizzled as it browned on both sides. I put it into the oven as well to finish. 

It had been a long time since I had cooked for someone new. I was feeling a little nervous about whether or not he would enjoy what I was making. He seemed to love food in general though. We hadn't really discussed what I was making but he approved of each ingredient. He did say to surprise him.

I sliced the bread and toasted it in the oven after brushing it with olive oil. When it came out, all warm and crunchy, I scrapped a half clove of garlic across the top. About the time I was finished with my bread the chicken was done the cooking and I pulled it from the oven to rest. I liked the smooth timing of it all, like a dance in the kitchen.

In the same skillet I cooked the chicken I added more butter, then cooked the shallots down until they were brown. Then I did the same to the mushrooms before adding the fresh diced tomatoes and garlic. Finally, I wilted the spinach into the mixture. Adding cream, wine, and the rest of grated cheese, I stirred until it came together into a lovely sauce. I seasoned it generously. 

I decided to make our plates before I called him to eat. I arranged them neatly, slicing the chicken into strips and covering it in the cheese sauce. Beside that were a massive pile of potatoes, the salad, and a couple of pieces of toast. 

“The food is ready,” I texted him, instead of bothering him, before putting the plates on his dining room table. Using the wine I cooked with, I poured us a large glass each to enjoy with our meals. Paper napkins would have to do because I couldn't find any others. His kitchen supplies sucked, to be honest. 

“Oh, my god! It smells so amazing in here! I don't even know what you made and I'm already thrilled to eat it!” He came bounding down the hall with excitement. 

“Roasted chicken with a creamy Parmesan, spinach, and mushroom sauce served with crispy roasted Italian butter potatoes. And, garlic toast for the sauce. The glass of wine is the same kind that I put in the sauce, so it should pair well.”

“Goodness! That sounds magnificent!” Edward said cheerfully. It seemed genuine.

“Thank you!”

“No, thank you for cooking all of this! I'm so excited to shove all of this into my face,” he sat down at the table and took a large sip from the stemless wine glass.

He had only eaten a sandwich and a lot of sugar earlier and was eager to get started. First, he sliced up one of the pieces of chicken and rolled it in the sauce before putting the whole big piece in his mouth. He hummed in pleasure quietly. Next, he tried a potato, shoving a sizable piece into his mouth in one single bite. I was a little worried he was going to choke.

“Oh, Jesus. It's so hot,” he huffed and puffed through the bite. “The middle is very hot. And soft. But the outside parts are crispy. And hot. It has a really nice texture though.”

“Are you reviewing my food?” I teased him, dipping my bread into the sauce. I had put extra sauce on mine. It was the best part in my opinion.

“Yes. I'm going to give it a ten out of ten. Could have been eleven if you added even more cheese somehow,” he joked playfully.

I laughed, “I could do that. Stuff it with cheese. Crust it in cheese. A cheesier cheese sauce.”

“That actually made my mouth water,” he said dryly, longingly looking off into the distance.

I laughed again at his silly seriousness. 

He was clearly pleased that he was amusing me. Edward seemed to be having a good time. “I'd get so fat if I ate like this every meal.”

“This is not an everyday food. This is a trying to impress you food,” I admitted.

“Well, I am. Thoroughly so.”

“Imagine what I could do if your kitchen was properly supplied,” I told him after a sip of my wine. “My Thanksgivings are out of this world.”

“What do you mean by properly supplied?” He asked through a bite of salad. 

“All the gadgets, the right tools. A pantry full of the basics. No offense, but your kitchen is kind of tragic compared to the rest of your house.”

“If I cooked, I'd definitely need to upgrade my kitchen. You know, it's just me though.” 

He liked to say that a lot. He seemed to use it as an excuse.

“You should learn to cook. At least a few things. You love food so much. Just seems like a natural fit. You know, even if you do hire someone else to do it for you.”

“Maybe. You want to teach me?” He was being a little flirty with me.

“If we had more time I'd love to. We're going to be so busy the next few days though. You have the charity game tomorrow and then skydiving Saturday. I'm sure you'll be tired on Sunday,” I said a little sadly. “Come visit me in Queens. I'll teach you in my tiny kitchen. It is fully loaded.”

Edward didn't look at me as he asked, instead he was playing with his salad with his fork. “What would you teach me to cook?”

“Anything you wanted,” I offered.

“I'll make a list before I come to visit then,” he smiled playfully.

Edward ended up eating the rest of the potatoes and the sauce with the toast. There was a whole breast left so I put it away for later. I had cleaned as I went so I only had to put the last dishes in the washer to finish cleaning. 

He poured the last of the wine in our glasses, just a little each. “I thought you didn't like to indulge when you're working.”

“Oh,” I stopped, flushed and embarrassed as I realized what I had done. “I don't normally but I didn't even think about it. I just went into hostess mode like I would for my friends. I'm sorry.”

He was so soft and sweet when he asked, “does that mean you think of me as a friend?”

His question stopped me. “I mean... yeah. I guess I do. You're so friendly and easy to be around. If that's okay?”

“Why wouldn't it be okay? I feel the same, to be honest. We've gotten tattoos together. It's kind of a serious step in any friendship. I think. I don't know. Perhaps,” he teased. Edward looked over at the clock, looking at the time. It was just after eight in the evening. “I think I'll stop editing for the night. It's a busy day tomorrow.”

The days were going by so fast.

“Did you finish what you need to?” I asked him quietly.

“Oh, yeah. I make a lot more videos than I post, actually. Kind of save them up for a rainy day. You know, if I'm busy or sick. Or, just not in the mood. Or, traveling or working. So, I'm always way ahead when it comes to my video content for my channel. I just enjoy editing, too,” he explained to me.

I was curious. “How many fully made unposted videos do you have right now?”

“About forty.”

“Wow!” I exclaimed, truly shocked. “That's so many. How often do you post online?”

“Daily. I know it sounds like a lot but most of them are just little videos. Quick ones I did alone in the house. Lots of food ones and lists. Video games playthroughs. The big ones I film with Seth and Tyler go up pretty quickly usually. Within the month. But, I also film ahead for holidays, too.”

“I guess that makes sense. Do you ever make a video you don't post period?”

“Mm, they generally get posted. If I don't think it's amazing I throw up two a day up, one as a bonus episode. I also have a private video diary but I don't ever show that to anyone and I don't intend to,” he explained. “It's just for me.”

“My pictures are my diary,” I said softly, pensively. “I don't mind showing people though. They don't understand the memories behind them.”

“I can see that,” he said, his voice gentle, quiet. He had such large expressive eyes. His eyelashes were long and curled back slightly. Edward's cheeks were a little pink, a natural flush against his light skin. I was a light olive skinned girl, but he made me feel downright dark. 

I caught myself looking at his face for a second too long. Shaking myself free, I finished my glass of wine. 

“So, would you like to have ice cream sundaes by the pool with me?” He said charmingly.

“That sounds like an extremely effective pickup line,” I said dryly. Edward took a moment for it to sink in what I said and he laughed. 

“You are not wrong.”

“Handsome Youtuber used obscene wealth and sugar. It was super effective,” I teased him. I hoped he understood my stupid Pokemon reference.

“No, it's not! I've been single for bloody months,” he complained as he got up to go into the kitchen. He pulled the ice cream out and placed it on the counter. “I guess if I just wanted a shag, it would be one thing but I'm not comfortable with it. I've not even been on a proper date in months.” He retrieved the whipped cream and cherries, “what would you like in yours?” 

“Fix it however you like, but with extra cherries,” I answered, picking up my camera to take pictures of him as he made us large bowls. “How long has it been, if I may ask?”

“I had a blind date to a Fourth of July party at a work friend's place. It was dreadful. I've met a bag of rocks who was a better conversation partner,” he shook his head in annoyance. “No personality.”

He brought the bowls to the table and I photographed the mess. He made us bowls like an eight-year-old left who was alone for the first time.

“What about you? Last date?” Eddie asked.

“I've not dated since my husband passed,” I kind of half shrugged. “Dating is tough everywhere, I guess.”

This seemed to make him a little more serious. Edward nodded his head before taking a bite. He seemed to be considering something.“What was his name? Your husband? If I may ask.”

“Aiden Levi Zucker.” I rarely said his name out loud anymore. “Doctor, actually. Dr. Zucker.”

“You didn't take his last name,” he stated.

“No, I was kind of using my name professionally by then. Working and in school and it would have been so hard to change everything. I didn't mind his name. But I kinda think he liked it, to appear more liberal to his friends in that sense. He was a professor of anthropology,” I said as I took my first bite of ice cream. It was good. I ate a cherry as I thought about my dead husband and sighed. It all seemed so abstract and almost far away. It was a story I had told myself too many times, especially alone at night. “His friends could be such judgemental assholes. I had a thicker accent then and they thought I was stupid trash. They weren’t afraid to let me know in their own special ways. And, they probably thought I was a gold digger, too. Not that Aiden would have told me if they thought that.”

Edward seemed offended for me. “Just because of your accent?”

“I was much younger than him too, but I don't know. Well, people are just terrible sometimes,” I ate another cherry. “My friends all loved him, though. He was a good man.”

He was quiet for a few moments while he ate. “What's your full name? I don't know your middle name.” He finally asked. “Mine is Anthony, by the way. Edward Anthony Cullen.”

“Isabella Marie Swan,” I took a bite of caramel ice cream. It was just the slightest bit salty. 

He cocked his head to the side slightly. “Oh... I thought you were just joking before with the beauty queen bit. Are you named after anyone? It’s a pretty name.”

“I don’t know. It's a really common name, especially now. My mom picked it out. I don't know if I am or not. Never got to ask her. I'd love to ask her a whole lot of things actually. Mainly like what the fuck, but eh. That's life, I guess. Wholly unsatisfying with its lack of answers,” I bemoaned bitingly. It wasn't directed towards him though. 

He considered his words carefully. “What happened to your mom? You said she died when you were five. Was she sick?”

“Oh, um. No. Not exactly. She was an addict. She overdosed on heroin while driving and rammed into a power pole at fifty miles an hour. She shot up right before she started driving. Did it in a Sonic parking lot and rammed into the pole about fifty feet away.” 

The scene played like a movie in my head but I knew it was just the memory that I created for it in my brain. I was probably too hurt to actually remember anything.

The concept of my mother had moved beyond the abstract and into the realms of fairy tales. People rarely realize how brutal those stories actually were. They generally ended with blood, too. 

Edward legitimately gasped in horror. “Jesus! I'm...That just... sucks. My god! Oh no. How terrible. I am so sorry,” he was almost speechless and sputtering his words.

I leaned over and pointed to my cheek so he could see the mark, tracing the scar with my middle finger. “It's much fainter than it used to be but that's how I got this,” I moved my finger over my lip across my cheek as it curved up to my hair. “ A no parking sign went into my face. I broke several bones, too. Went through the glass. I was in the hospital in a medically induced coma for a week. Good times.”

“Oh, no. And, you were just five? You were in the car, though? She took drugs with you and drove while high? I know I smoke weed but I'd never drive ever, let alone with my little helpless daughter in the car. I am... Gah. I don't even know. Angry and sad. I want to go back to give little… well smaller, you a hug. You've lost more people before you were even a teenager than I have in my entire life. Even my grandparents are still alive and in good health. One of them moved to Australia to be closer to my parents and the other fucked off to Ireland to retire just recently.”

“Where are your parents and grandparents from originally again?” I asked.

“Father's Scottish and my Mum's English. They met at Uni. They moved down under for my mom's work. She was a lawyer and now a retired judge,” he explained to me.

“Impressive.”

“Yeah, but it means I got away with literally fucking nothing growing up.”

I laughed, “I couldn't either but that's because my grandmother was a strict Catholic who made me go to church several times a week. She filled every second of every day with something to keep me busy. Idle hands are the devil's playground, you know. Too busy to be too bad.”

“I didn't realize you were Catholic.”

“I'm not anymore. I was just raised in the church. And, went to a Catholic school. And, worked at a church for four years. But I haven't been to church in years now. I've been to temple more recently than that.”

“Temple?” He seemed confused. 

“Aiden was Jewish. We had a little Jewish wedding where you stomp on the glass and everything. I went to my niece's Bat Mitzvah about a month ago. Because there is nothing more adult than thirty thirteen-year-old girls trying to figure out how to dance to a DJ who stopped listening to music in the early 2000s surrounded by your ancient relatives.”

Edward chuckled, “I don't know, sounds fun.”

“It was. Great food, too.” I pushed my ice cream over to him. I had eaten all the cherries and a few bites of everything else but I was getting very full at that point. He had finished his and started digging into mine right away. He wasn't going to waste it. 

“So, are you Jewish then?”

“Atheist, actually. So was he, but we went for his mother. It made her happy and he was all about his family. Which was one of the reasons I loved him so much.”

“I miss my family,” he admitted to me quietly. “I'm the youngest of five. I'm the only boy, too. I'm really close to my sisters. I talk to them every day through text practically. I miss seeing them almost every day though. And, my nieces. I've got seven nieces and I use to babysit them all. Well, one of them was only born very recently. That's the last time I saw them. When the new baby, Ava, was born. So, two months ago. My parents have been driving the new mother up the wall,” Edward smiled as he thought of the people he loved. It was extremely sweet.

“Wow, seven,” I replied. “I just have the one technically. She was a sweetie though. I use to babysit her as well. I'm glad my in-laws let me hang around but I've always felt out of place, even if they've only ever been kind to me.”

“My sisters would love you,” he scooped up the last of the hot fudge in my bowl with his spoon. “They'd fawn over your pretty hair and your pictures. I actually bought one of them, and my mom, one of your prints as a gift. From your website. Before you came here. For their birthdays coming up.”

“Oh! That's so nice...” I drew out, not sure what else to say. I always felt awkward selling stuff. “I have pretty hair?”

“Yeah. Those pretty ringlets of yours. They'd want to know how you do it. Ask for all your magical secrets. All their hair is board straight and I don't know how many hours of their lives they've wasted trying to make it curly,” he chuckled warmly.

“I wash and condition my hair and then comb it... and then let it dry into whatever ungodly mess it feels like creating that day. Sometimes it's ringlets, sometimes it's a fro. It's a chance game. Sometimes I blow dry and straighten it but I didn't bring any of that with me. I forgot them. Photographers aren't really supposed to be the ones being looked at anyway.”

“Fair enough,” Edward nodded.

“When will you see them again? Your family?”

“February, sadly. Around Valentine's sometime. Everyone is coming together. My parents are going on some kind of crazy month-long cruise at Christmas and I work pretty solid until then anyway. It's the longest I've been away from them.”

“A month-long cruise? That is too long on a boat.”

“I agree, but it is their retirement money they're wasting,” he answered as he got up from the table with the bowls. He rinsed them clean but left them in the sink since the washer was still running. “Thank you for all the amazing food and the company tonight. And, the videos earlier, too.”

“I had a great time and I'm glad you enjoyed the meal,” I told him honestly.

“I think I'm going to have a smoke. Would you like to join me?” He offered. 

I had opened myself up enough for one night and decided to excuse myself to my room. 

I edited pictures until I couldn't see straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Aiden is the first original character for the story. His family will be OC as well. I didn’t want to kill anyone off lol 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	8. chapter Eight

Chapter eight- 

 

I woke up at around seven in the morning, my body still used to the New York time zones. Because fuck me, I guess.

I exercised in my bedroom quietly while listening to a podcast. I showered and put on my makeup for the day. The clothing for the charity event seemed casual so I wore a pair of skinny blue jeans and a satiny black blouse with my comfortable black sneakers. I also wore my hair up in a ponytail since I didn't know what else to do with it. I wished I had some cuter earrings or something to look a bit nicer but I hadn't brought anything with me. I'm not sure why I didn't. I felt very plain.

Patiently I waited in the kitchen for Edward to wake up while sipping coffee and editing on my laptop at the bar. I drank two mugs worth before it began to get cold, there was still a lot left in the pot. I put it in the fridge for later. The alone time was so helpful. I was able to edit so much. I hadn't even gotten to the pictures at the recording studio yet though. I was still just finishing with our evening at the tattoo parlor. 

Around eleven my coffee was no longer enough. We wouldn't get a chance to eat at the event so it was probably a good idea to eat a decent meal beforehand. I looked through the items I had bought the day before for our dinner, trying to decide what I wanted to eat. I had eggs from the homemade salad dressing, potatoes, butter, cheese, chicken, shallots, mushrooms, french bread, and bananas to work with. And a little bit of spinach and fresh tomato as well. 

I washed, peeled, and cubed three little potatoes and put them in some water to boil. I diced the mushrooms and shallots, preparing the cheese by grating it. 

Edward came from his room, looking a little sleepy but clean. When I saw him I started another pot of coffee without asking. “Would you like some breakfast?” I offered him.

“Yes, please,” he said politely, looking over the pictures that were up on my screen in the spot next to him. I had Lightroom opened, several pictures all up at once. 

“If you want to see more you can scroll there,” I pointed out to him. “Or, you can go to the side here and look at the different days,” I told him. 

“Thanks,” he smiled slightly, looking a little more. 

“What would you like to eat?”

“Whatever you're making,” he leaned his chin into his hand and yawned widely.

“I'm making myself a vegetarian omelet with sauteed shallots, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach. With fried potatoes and toast with butter,” I explained to him. He was worrying his plush bottom lip with his teeth as he looked at pictures of himself. 

“That sounds amazing. Do we have any of that chicken from last night leftover?” He asked as he glanced up at me. 

“Yup, I can add that if you like.”

“That sounds so good. Thank you. Do I... do I need to help in some way?” He offered. “Is there something I can do?”

“Could you wash that skillet for me in the sink?” I asked as I got the larger skillet, throwing a large knob of butter in it to melt. I sliced the bread until the pan was ready and put the shallots into cook first. When he brought me the other skillet I drained the potatoes and tossed them in seasoning. I put a little bit of olive oil and butter in that pan to get very hot before putting the potatoes into pan fry. Next, my mushrooms cooked with the shallots, then the tomatoes, and finally the spinach. I heated the chicken in the same pan for his. 

Edward made the toast while I assembled the omelets. I did not skimp on the butter at any point. It took less than thirty minutes to cook the whole meal from start to finish with his help. 

“Let's eat by the pool,” Edward offered, taking the coffee out onto one the tables outside. It was a perfect Friday. I brought our overflowing plates with fried potatoes, omelets, and toast along with a banana each. Edward's was a monster of a plate and he chowed down into it right away. 

I should have taken pictures of him while we worked in the kitchen, while he ate, but I liked the quiet moment. He seemed to, too. I worried that I had been bothering him. He was a little quiet, but more so in a pensive way. We cleared the dishes away and I added the now cold coffee to the small pitcher in the fridge with the rest. 

It wasn't in there for very long because when Seth and Tyler arrived they were happy to make themselves iced coffee with lots of creamer. It was probably a good thing we had bought two creamers because we were really going through them. 

I was not prepared for the size of the event we were going to. The stadium was huge and brightly decorated with things from the game Red Ops 3. There were hundreds of people in costume. And people were freaking out about Edward everywhere we went. He had two bodyguards for the day, who were hired by his manager, who followed at a distance. But everyone seemed so nice. The girls seemed to love him the most, of course. I couldn't blame them. He was charming to all of them, hugging them whenever they asked. He was even better with the kids. 

We were eventually led to a back area where Edward would be randomly placed with another celebrity partner. The room was filled with dozens of faces that I actually recognized from television and movies but I knew very few of their names. I stayed close to Seth and Tyler since they seem to know what to do when it came to following Edward in full entertainer mode. 

Eddie was paired with a very handsome man with a familiar last name and face but I couldn't place him. He was maybe someone's more famous younger brother? Or cousin. Nephew. I wasn't sure. I also didn't want to be rude and google him right in front of his face. 

“Scott and I are super excited to compete for our charities today!” Eddie said to the camera with so much energy. I knelt down and took his picture as he spoke with the actor. They both had the same sharp profile with strong chins. “So, my man, who are you playing for this afternoon?”

“Heifers United, which is a fantastic organization that brings animals to impoverished areas to help give people not only a source of food but pride,” the actor had a deep deep voice with a mild southern accent. Maybe Georgian. Or, from the Carolinas. 

“That is so awesome! And I am playing for the Toys for Tots program, which helps give toys to kids at Christmas which is coming up very soon. Three of my favorite things are kids, toys, and Christmas. Insert a picture of last Christmas with all my adorable nieces here,” he laughed cheerfully. “So, whatever I win I will also match! But fear not, I will donate at a minimum ten thousand dollars no matter happens!”

“Sounds like a great idea. I'll do the same,” the other actor agreed. 

“Even if we get that twenty-five thousand dollars first place?” Edward asked cockily. “I mean, obviously we're going to win. You've been practicing, right?”

“Right!” He looked totally unsure about that.

“Then let's go win some cows and toys!” Eddie shouted. “Oi, that sounded better in my head.”

I laughed despite myself. He winked at me with a rueful smile. 

“And cut,” Edward said calmly. He shook his partner's hand. “Thanks so much. That was perfect. I'm excited to play with you.”

“Same,” he said shortly but politely. 

“So, let me introduce you to my friends here,” he began to introduce Seth, Tyler, and I to the actor. And then he introduced me to all the people he knew who came to speak with him. At least one of them was in a show I watched, I was positive. He was pleasant to them all, smoothly bouncing between them. And he remembered everyone's name and details about their life. I could barely remember my own name sometimes. 

The game itself was a short affair. They would be playing two practice rounds and then a single match for everything. The games didn't last more than thirty minutes each. 

Edward stuck his tongue out when he was trying to concentrate really hard. I tried not to crowd him as he played, but there were so many people there that I was practically pressed against him. But, it did give me a very good view. Their first practice round they got to a fourth-place finish which was pretty good considering how hard fought it was to get there. The next round they were the second pair to be eliminated. 

“Goddamn hairy monkey motherfucking balls!” Eddie shouted as he was bombed off a cliff to his death, his partner already long dead. 

They took a little break and had a drink while they reset for the main game. Everyone was a little more serious and nervous. 

It didn't look like it was going to be a good game because his partner died midway through when he got tagged by two teams at once. But Edward played through the rest of the game alone, got twelve kills out of the ninety-nine other players, and came in third place. That was the ten thousand dollar prize he promised to give no matter what. He was over the moon with his victory.

“Well, it was hard. I played not that well. But in the end, it looks like we're going to be able to give away lots of heifers and a whole lot of toys today,” he said excitedly as he spoke to the camera once again. “I'll link both charities in the box down below if you want to donate and let's make this world a little better together. Thanks! Buh-bye!”

There was a VIP after party in one of the big rooms in the arena. Edward was required to be there for at least a couple of hours for the super fans that paid for the chance to rub elbows with the actors and creators of the game. There was a bar with expensive drinks in tiny plastic cups. Edward brought all of us with camera equipment bottles of water since it was so hot in the cramped space 

Edward got himself a beer. He had several over our time there

A whole host of people came to speak to Edward. Some were obviously excited fans while others were men in suits who spoke about jobs and work in the future. I began tuning people out because it was just the same conversations over and over again. Work, weather, video games, repeat. 

Later in the evening after the sun had gone down and the beer had been flowing for a while a woman at least six feet tall came to talk to Edward. She wore uncomfortably high heels as well, making her nearly as tall as him. I felt like a midget. She was a size zero and wore pants that looked like they were painted on. And her shirt left little to the imagination, a baby tee meant for an actual baby. Her face could be described as painted on as well. Her hair was obviously from a bottle and was half weaves anyway. Bad ones that were a slightly different shade than her own. She was exactly what I imagined every cheap woman in Hollywood looked like. She was probably one of the booth babes from earlier. She still looked much better than me. 

“Hi, I've seen you on YouTube before,” she began, leaning deeply into him. I began to clean my camera lens with my blouse. I had enough pictures of him being bored and talking to people around there anyway. I switched the lens to get different kinds of shots. I went with my macro. It was my favorite at the moment. It would change with my mood.

“Yes, I've been known to be seen there,” Edward said boisterously. He was on his fourth or fifth beer at that point for sure. For someone so big he was a surprising lightweight. We also hadn't eaten since before noon though. It was putting me in a foul mood.

“I'm Tabby,” she offered him her hand limply, her nails were long and hot neon pink. 

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Tabby,” he gave her a gentle shake. “Do you play the game?”

“No. But I saw that you came in third! That's really cool. You're like really good,” she spoke like a child. Or, maybe an idiot. I wonder how old she was. Actually, she was probably closer to his age than I was. It made me feel ancient. 

“Thank you, my dear! That is very kind of you to say,” he said a bit too formally in a stuffy English voice. It made her giggle. My eyes rolled into my head so hard they almost came back around. Seth was smirking as well. Tyler hadn't really noticed as he played with his phone. They were supposed to be getting shots of the after party for the channel but they were getting bored as well. 

“And you're jumping out of a plane tomorrow, right? I think that's what the announcer said anyway. That's so sexy! You're into, like, action adventure,” she did a non-ironic hair flip. Tyler finally glanced up from his phone with a little look of confusion on his face. He looked over at me for a brief second and flitted his eyes up to the ceiling before going back to his phone. 

“Yeah, I kind am... into action... and adventure, I mean,” he teased warmly. Edward was definitely using his video voice. Hopefully, it wasn't his 'trying to get laid' voice, too. 

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Tabby asked him directly. Even I was a little surprised. I thought it would take a little longer than that.

“Uh, no. I broke up with my girlfriend a few months ago right before I moved to the US actually. She didn't want to come with me,” he pouted out his bottom lip dramatically. For sure someone else would be driving him home because he had enough beers for the night. 

I decided to wander off while he was flirting to find other things to take pictures of. Half drank plastic cups with neon colored liquids, disregarded swag from the gift bags already broken, glitter and balloons everywhere. That was it though. Just outside the party, I found a window that overlooked the entire outdoor area where they had played earlier. It was all empty with the lights off inside, but you could see the lights of the city behind it. I snapped several pictures until I was satisfied with the results. These would be my pictures for the night. My rewards for my personal collection. 

“Hey!” Edward found me outside after several minutes. “I was worried I had lost you.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I took another picture as the city lights. 

“You alright?” He asked in a concerned way.

“Yes, just tired and hungry. It's been a long day,” I put away my camera. The strap had rubbed my neck raw and the lighting wasn't very good anymore anyway. The only lights were coming from the opened party doors in the darkened hallway.

He frowned a little bit to himself as he nodded. “Yeah, we can head out now. We did our time. I'll text Seth and Tyler. They're looking for you, too.”

“You could have texted me,” I offered. 

“I guess you're right. I didn't think about it. I'm tired, too,” he said, embarrassed as he quickly typed to his friends. “What kind of dinner would you like?”

“Your choice,” I wasn't sure when he was going to realize that I was always going to let him pick in this situation. I was just there to follow him around. He was in charge.

“I'm asking you.”

“You should ask Seth and Tyler,” I retorted. I suddenly felt very spicy. It was definitely time for bed if I was going to act like that. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned to look back out at the window.

“Okay,” he said kind of quietly and he cleared his throat. I had obviously made him uncomfortable.

“So, did she give you her number?” I asked him as we waited for the boys to meet us so we could leave. I thought I should at least try to act like I wasn't an asshole. “She was very pretty. And tall. Christ, so tall.”

“She was and she did,” he took something out of his pocket and began to shred what appeared to be a napkin that looked like it had been written on with eyeliner. Edward dropped it into a trash can beside a potted plant. Who even wrote out their number? He must not have been willing to get her his phone.

I was confused. He had been flirting with her. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I'm not really interested in her but I felt like I needed to be polite and take it. So many girls here in Hollywood are so forward and they're obviously not in it for a relationship, if you know what I mean. It's kind of disheartening.”

“She could have been a model,” I told him. “And you don't know. Maybe it’s not money. She could have been in it just to have sex with a hot celebrity.” 

“Yeah, no thanks. Pretty isn't worth it,” he told me softly. “Here, let me carry your bag for you. I know that has to be heavy after such a long day,” Edward took it from my shoulder suddenly before I could fully protest. It successfully ended our awkward conversation. Seth and Tyler eventually showed up to us waiting in silence. “Come on, let's go get food. One of you decide what to eat.”

On the way to the car, the two of them debated which kind of fried chicken they should get on the way home for everyone to eat. I walked behind them, Edward walking beside me in silence. 

I hated myself but I had to admit how strongly I felt about him at that moment. There was no other reason for my jealousy earlier. My cheeks flushed as it hit me, embarrassed by being moved by such a crush. He opened the car door for me and we sat in the backseat together. I hated how warm I felt when I slipped close by him and smelled his musky sweaty scent from his long day. I was being an idiot though. He flirted with her, too. And, he wasn't interested in me. This is work. That's it. 

And, I only had two full days left in Los Angeles anyway.

We all ate dinner around his table. The boys kept up most of the conversation. I was too deep in my own thoughts. Edward kept stealing worried glances but never said anything. Before they were done I excused myself to go to bed. 

I showered again to wash off my makeup and day's sweat. 

A few minutes after I got dressed for bed there was a small knock on the door. I called for Edward to come in, adjusting the soft down blanket on my bed that I made earlier in the day. 

“I wanted to check on you and make sure you're alright,” he said softly. All of his charm from earlier was gone and he seemed anxious. He looked so young and almost fragile.

“Yea, I'm fine,” I assure him. “I was just hangry and sore. Sorry.”

“Can I get you anything?” He offered, “aspirin or something? Water?”

“No, I've already taken some actually. I'm fine, really. I'm just... homesick now,” I thought about the couch I normally slept on. Alice. I felt like I could have slept for days once I returned home. I would probably need it. I probably needed to cry to her for a bit about what an idiot I was. It was the first flutterings of any emotion I had at any point since Aiden and it was with a man I couldn't have.

“Alright, I just wanted to check. Let me know if there is anything I could do at all to make you happy or comfortable,” he said sweetly with his hand over his heart. “I just... I don't know. I'm sorry, I'm awkward. I have anxiety and sometimes, I think-,” he began but stopped himself. “You know, nevermind. You're obviously going to bed. I'll let you sleep.”

“Okay...”I said softly, even sadder now. “By the way, good job today.”

“It’s just a video game,” he said quietly by the door. 

“No, it was a lot of cows and toys,” I replied in a hushed tone and gave him a little smile. He gave it back in return, genuine and shy. 

“Yeah. Thanks... Goodnight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter nine- 

 

I woke up an hour before my alarm. Edward would have to be getting up early that day as well because of the hour drive out to the skydiving school where the event was taking place. I was so nervous for him that I couldn't eat breakfast. I only had coffee. We were running short on options anyway. We had finished the fruit.

Edward came out of his room a little after nine in the morning, his body clean and his hair washed but he wasn't awake by any stretch of the imagination. I made him a large mug as he plopped down heavily in front of his bar. He put his head in his hands, squeezing his eyes shut tight. 

“Morning sunshine,” I said quietly with a smile. I was determined to forget my mood of the evening before. “Do you want some breakfast?” He looked up and saw the mug I was offering him. He picked it up and threw it back quickly. Way too quickly for a hot beverage even if it had cream in it. Did he not value his poor tongue at all?

“No. Just more coffee. I can't eat when I first wake up,” he mumbled as he pushed his now empty mug back towards me. He drank it in three big gulps. I made him yet another mug. “Thanks.”

“Is it good?” I asked him as he buried his face into the mug.

“Very. Best coffee I've had since home,” he mumbled again. How could he drink so much so fast?

I brought my camera up and took several shots. He slowly looked up and arched his eyebrow at me. I took three more pictures. He stuck out his tongue and touched the tip of his nose. I took three pictures of it to prove it later. 

“Impressive,” I reached forward and pretended as if I was going to touch his tongue. He leaped forward in his chair, biting at my fingers. I giggled and pulled them back. He snapped and snarled. “Cranky.”

“I need more coffee to be less bitey.”

“Even after having your third? Well, I'll start another pot,” I put on the kettle and cleaned out the french press after pouring myself another mug of the very last little bit. I prepped the grounds and waited for the water to boil. As we were waiting, Seth and Tyler along with a woman I hadn't met before arrived, knocking before allowing themselves into the house. 

“It smells fucking great in here,” Seth said as he put down his bag of equipment on the couch. 

“I'm making some fresh coffee now.”

“Great,” Tyler smiled as he put his stuff down as well. He went into the kitchen behind me to find himself a travel mug from one of the cabinets. He knew where everything was since he was over so often. It's not like he had much to search through though.

“Zafrina, this is Bella. She's the photographer. Bella, this Zafrina, my manager,” Edward introduced us over his mug. His head was leaned into his palm. “She only shows up when I do really dumb shit where I might die.” 

She was an extremely tall and very pretty black woman with long jet black hair falling straight down her shoulders. She was dressed very well in an expensive looking leopard print blouse and black pencil skirt. We shook hands, “great to meet you. I'm glad I could talk him into it. It was a battle. Is he behaving for you?”

“Not at all,” I laughed. “He just tried to bite me.”

“Yeah, sounds about right. Alright,” she turned to Edward. “We need to head out in the next fifteen minutes so we can make it out to the school by eleven. First, we're going to do a few videos. A few pictures. Then the skydive is at one. After the jump, you're going to head back and do another couple videos and even more pictures. Then there is the after party tonight at Shade. You need to be there at least three hours.”

“Yeah. Got it,” he rubbed his forehead. “Let me get more coffee first. It's almost done. Bella, would you like to come with me to the after party?”

“No press,” Zafrina interjected. “No Cameras allowed inside. It's private.”

“Off the clock. As my plus one,” Edward replied as swirled his coffee mug around. “Please?” He looked over his cup with those big beautiful green eyes.

“Um, sure. Sounds fun,” I answered before I really thought about it. He was hard to say no to. Where was the harm?

“Alright, I'll let them know. I'm going to go to the bathroom and head out. Get out the door in fifteen.” Zafrina turned to me and smiled, “nice to meet you. See you boys there.”

I made us all travel mugs of coffee and we made our way to Edward's car. He passed the keys off to Seth and went to the backseat. Tyler called shotgun and I sat in the back seat behind Seth. Edward put on a dark pair of sunglasses and pulled his hoodie over his head as he continued to yawn despite working on his outrageous fourth cup of coffee. 

“Why am I more nervous than you are about jumping out of a damn plane?” I asked him. As he turned to answer I took his picture. He smirked. I took his picture again. He looked a bit like the Unabomber. 

“I've done it before. Four times, in fact.”

“So?” I laughed at the passiveness of it. “You don't even seem excited.”

“I am. I'm just not awake yet,” he laid his head back on the headrest. “Mornings give me a headache.”

“He'll perk up when we get there,” Tyler turned back to look at us. “So, Bella, your week in California is almost up. What do you think of it?”

“I think it has nice weather. I think it would be fun to take pictures here for a little while,” I took his picture. He smiled so that his eyes closed and almost seem to be smiling as well. Tyler grinned with his entire face. “I've met nothing but nice people since being here.”

“Too bad you didn't get any free time to do anything fun while you were here. Tourist kind of shit. I don't know if you're into that kind of thing,” Seth chimed in.”You didn't like the bridge.”

“Oh, for sure. I love museums. Zoos. I really want to go to the Los Angeles zoo,” I told him truthfully.

“You like zoos?” Seth asked, glancing back in the rearview mirror back at me. I wanted to say ‘well, obviously’ but didn't because I didn't want to seem too sassy.

“I love going to the zoo. I used to get memberships so I could go all the time. It's a great way to waste a Saturday outside in nature. It's good therapy. And I like taking pictures of animals for my collection. It's always different and good practice. I don't know what else I'd what want to do. I didn't really research that sort of thing before I came.”

“What about going to the beach?” Tyler asked. “That's always popular.”

“I lived in New Jersey for a while, when I was really young and in school. It was cheaper than New York. Anyway, we lived on the beach. The Atlantic was literally our backyard. So...I've seen a sandy beach,” I thought back wistfully to that time period to our beachy little townhouse. We partied so much on that beach. “Though it would be nice to watch the sunset on the beach on a different coast. Sunsets are always my favorite. Even if I have a million pictures of them that all look practically the same.”

“I should take you to the Gold Coast,” Edward interposed. “It's so beautiful. The sunsets cannot be beaten. I use to go surfing there all the time.”

The idea of him in a wetsuit, surfing. Oh. 

“That sounds so braggy,” Tyler teased him. “Look at me. I'm good looking AND I surf.”

“And, I'm fucking rich, too,” Edward said with fake boredom. He lowered his sunglasses and winked at me. Badly. He tried to do it a couple of times but he just ended up blinking. “Nope, too early.”

I scoffed. He was ridiculous.

We chatted on and off on the way there. Edward seemed to fall asleep about halfway, his head resting to one side and his arms crossed over his chest. 

I took his picture. He looked so comfortable. 

How could he be asleep after four cups of coffee though?

But, when we got there he popped up like a damn daisy. 

Edward was handed a bag and went off into a changing room. I had never been in a skydiving school before so I took a ton of pictures from large room shots to abstract details too close for anyone but me. I would have more pictures for myself than anything else from the trip. 

Edward came out of the dressing room in a snug black full body jumpsuit with his name stitched into the breast neatly. I was glad that I had an excuse to stare at him. I took a few pictures as he walked towards me. He was smiling widely, brushing his hair back off his forehead as he did. Then I was lucky enough to see him from behind. He had such a great ass. I took a few more pictures probably just for me. 

Definitely for me. If wasn't going to see him again, I could give myself nice memories to remember him by. It made me feel slightly trashy. But not enough to stop me.

We were the first people there for the jump. There were three other guys jumping out of the plane that day, but we were a little early. The camera crew and director took this chance to get Eddie's promos and individual pictures out of the way. The next guy, another voice actor for the game, showed up sometime soon after. 

“So, who else is jumping?” I asked as we waited in the planes' garage where there were stools and chairs scattered about. Tyler and Seth were off busy getting shots of the building for editing later. The area was stunning and they were messing with drones to get a couple of shots around the building, only very low flying though so not to cause any problems.

Edward was too keyed up to sit. “Daniel. The guy who is already here. He does the main villain in the game. Johnny Lang. He's a pro player who specialized in the first two games. Really good. And Database.” 

“The DJ?” I questioned. I had listened to some of his music before.

“Yeah. He does the soundtrack. They're going all out for this thing,” he said, rocking back and forth on his heels. He had begun to play with the straps of his jumpsuit and fiddle with his sunglasses a lot. He had finally begun to feel anxious about what he was going to do. I brought my camera up and took a picture rather close to his face. His eyes were downcast and the lashes were visible against his cheeks. There were just the lightest freckles under his eyes. You could see the bright blue sky through the open garage door behind him but nothing else. “Wanna jump with us?” He asked after he took the shot.

“No. That's some white people nonsense,” I told him bluntly. It actually shocked him.

He guffawed, “but you're white, too.”

“I’m half white, at least. I'm white passing. Maybe. I don't know what I am exactly, but someone with melanin and more good sense in my head is telling me you're so safe and white you have to find new and interesting ways to kill yourself. No. I'm good on the ground. Taking the subway is enough of a risk for me.”

“How risky is the subway?” He was amused by my answer.

“Oh, my sweet summer child,” I touched his cheek and spoke in a cloying sweet voice. “I've seen two stabbings and I still the think the worst thing about the trains are the random Mariachi bands.” 

“Mariachi bands?” Seth said from behind me as they came from outside. 

Tyler answered, “oh, my god! They're the worst. Why would anyone bring a trumpet on a subway car? And there always has to be that sarcastic asshole with a guitar.”

“You know you have to get a permit to do that?” I asked him. “They're allowing us to be tortured. I have a theory it's a way to make fewer people use public transit.”

Tyler nodded, “sounds about right.”

“So, when I go to New York I need to be vigilant of rogue mariachi bands as well as stabbings on the subway?” Edward teased us with an innocent smile on his face. He thought we were screwing with him.

“Watch for the monks, too,” I warned him very seriously. “And, those weird people in costumes in Times Square. Dressed up like Spiderman and Spongebob. They're usually drunk.” I added earnestly. He raised an eyebrow at me and I just shrugged. “It's fine. Crime is way down since I first got there. New York is super safe now.”

Daniel, the other voice actor came in from his pictures and Edward introduced him to me. They chatted for a while politely about what they were both currently working on. They were scheduled to work on something else together in the future. It was another video game. They had worked before on a show as well. I hadn't watched him in it yet so I stayed quiet. I had nothing interesting to add to the conversation. Then they chatted about the possibility of rain the following week and how they were glad it waited until after the jump. I tuned out so hard while I just continued to think about the ass that belongs to the fine young man beside me.

Yup, I am definitely trash. 

There was a basketball hoop in the garage so the boys began to play around, taking turns shooting baskets. Johnny, the pro player, was next to come in. He was followed by a few people who seemed to be working on their own videos. It was entirely made up of guys. I felt outnumbered fifty to one. I wondered how his manager felt about it. She didn’t seem bothered.

Zafrina informed Eddie that as soon as they were done with the DJ's pictures they would be ready. They would do a few promos together after the jump and on the way to the plane. They would be in the air in less than an hour.

“So, what do you do, lovely?” Lang asked me suddenly as he came close to where I was sitting to shoot for a basket. They had been basically ignoring me up until that point. He was British and had a nice accent, but he had too much gel in his brown hair for me. It was stiff and you could see the wide comb marks dividing his hair. I imagined if you put your hand on it, it would crunch. Edward’s seemed so soft.

“I'm a photographer for a magazine,” I stated simply. “I'm taking pictures of Edward all this week for a photo editorial.”

“Well, isn't Edward a lucky ducky,” he said teasingly, looking over at Eddie with a grin. 

I shook my head. “I'm sure he's ready to be rid of me.”

“Of a pretty thing like you? Doubt it.” Edward passed him the ball from across the room, which he caught easily. He took a shot and it went in. Daniel took the ball and made a shot but missed. Edward lost interest in the game and came back to sit beside me on a chair with a giant rip in the vinyl seat. For once, I was taller than Eddie. 

“So, I'm not one to be superstition but what would it take to get a kiss for good luck?” Johnny asked me with a big, cheesy, shit eating grin.

“You better hope you don't need no damn kisses for luck,” I scoffed and hopped up from my stool, adjusting the shoulder strap of my camera so that it was more comfortable. 

He was not bothered. “There is no harm in having an extra bit of luck. You never know when you might need it.”

I shook my head. “How are kisses lucky, exactly?”

“How is a kiss from a gorgeous woman not lucky?” He asked flirtatiously. 

I rolled my eyes at the flattery. I hated how nice it made me feel, even if he was a bit much. I considered it for a long moment, thinking about all that had happened over the past week. It only made sense to add to the strangeness of it all. I gave him a quick kiss on the check, surprising him a little that it worked. His manager called him over right after and he winked at me before going to see what he wanted. The wink was a much smoother one than the one Edward attempted earlier in the car. I had never been winked at more in my life. Was that a Hollywood thing?

“Hey! Wait! That's not fair. I want a kiss for luck!” Edward pouted as soon as Lang was out of earshot. I turned to look at him, smirking to myself. 

“Ugh, fine,” I took his hand from his lap and press a quick kiss on his knuckles, giving him a big smile as I did. He pouted even more, not amused at being teased so.

“But, he got one on the cheek!” Edward complained. 

“And, he insinuated I was gorgeous. Flattery works for me,” I sassed him. I heard Seth snicker from behind the camera. I did an ironic hair flip just for him, making fun of the blond from before.

“Ugh, you're being mean to me on purpose. Well! Any fool with eyes can see that you are gorgeous! But, he hasn't been lucky enough to spend this week with you and learn that you are more than just beautiful. You are smart, funny, patient, and kind. You are talented and sharp and generous. If I were lucky enough to receive a kiss from you, even just on the cheek, I would wear it forever like a badge of honor knowing a woman as good as yourself felt I deserved it!” Edward said dramatically from his spot on the chair. 

He really knew how to make a woman's heart flutter though, didn't he?

“Alright there, cowboy,” I said softly, placing my hands on his shoulders as I leaned in. “That's enough of that,” I closed the gap completely and pressed my lips firmly on his forehead, letting them linger on his soft skin for a long moment. I could feel his breath catch as our skin touched. He brought one of his hands up in surprise but slowly dropped it back down into his lap. 

“Thank you,” his cheeks were bright red when I pulled away. 

“You're so dramatic. Don't put that in the video,” I pointed to him and then to the camera. 

He smiled a little bit shyly, “okay.” It was maybe a bit sarcastic, too. 

It was going in the video for sure. I had no doubt. 

“Heading out in two,” someone I didn't know shouted. The DJ came into the garage and the other guys went to go talk to him excitedly, including Seth and Tyler with their cameras. He had just arrived in his personal private jet and he was kind of a big deal, apparently. I hadn't realized how much so.

Edward and I were all alone and isolated in our corner from all the cameras. He seemed uninterested in the musician and was just quietly looking up at me from his low chair. Something in his eyes called me to him. I didn't think about it I just... I leaned in and kissed Edward quickly on the lips while no one was around to watch us. 

“Come back in one piece, white boy,” I whispered to him when I pulled away. 

Why do I do these things to myself?

“I will,” he stood slowly and I realized how close we were to each other. Just a few inches between us, my head completely tilted up to look up at him. He touched my forearms gently, squeezing them with his big hands. Our eyes held each other’s gaze for just a moment before finally, he let go greet Database.

My brain popped and fizzled while it tried to reboot itself.

The guys were taken out to the plane on the back of a truck, cameras following them the whole way. The support crews were taken out to the landing spot in a large open field with a giant circle in the middle of it. It had an X in the middle and it was where they would, hopefully, land safely. 

My heart was in my stomach as I fumbled with my long range lens. My hands were shaking so much that I took probably a hundred pictures of blur. The DJ was the first to land, everyone whooping and yelling as he did. Daniel was next, then Johnny. Eddie would be the last, of course. I kept holding my breath, my head dizzy as I tried to capture every angle with my camera. 

It all seemed to go so slow and so fast at the same time. He seemed to be floating forever, a red dot in the sky. Then he came in skidding to the ground at an amazing speed. In a second he jumped to his feet, the parachute falling away behind him and he jumped several times in the air with his arms above his head. 

Seth and Tyler busily filmed the entire thing. 

The whole situation was a spectacle. 

Finally, I could breathe again. My chest actually hurt I was holding my breath so hard and my heart was thumping insanely fast.

Two hours later after filming and getting changed, he was still extremely hyped. The entire ride back he spoke non-stop like an excited child. We stopped for fast food, getting burgers and shakes for everyone because that's what he wanted. 

When we got back to his place we both needed to shower after our day to get ready for the evening but it wasn't for another for a few hours. Edward also took the break to work on editing so I did the same. It wasn't like I had a lot to do to get ready. 

I laid in the luxuriously soft bed after showering. Everything in my body was vibrating with excitement. 

I was having so much fun. It was kind of felt like getting ready for a dance in high school again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter ten- 

 

Oh, that's right. I remember why I didn't really like dances as a teenager now...

 

I suddenly felt very uncomfortable in the back of the very expensive black car we were taking, riding in the darkness towards the club where the after party was being held. How silly was I to think it was alright to wear a seven dollar dress from Target? How was my drugstore makeup enough? Edward was wearing a very nice blue tailored suit that fit snugly to his body with a slim silver tie held in place with an engraved pin with a silver and black C. It matched his cufflinks. 

Once again I was the poor little girl. 

I pulled out my mirror and touched up my nude lipstick by the light of my phone. I felt very boring. The makeup I had wasn't for parties. I only had it so not to look ghoulish for work. It wasn't like I was going out partying all the time. And I didn't know what to do with my hair so I didn't do anything at all. I let it dry like normal in its big curly mess. I felt so out of place.

I shouldn't have agreed to come. I felt naked without my camera. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and pressed myself more into the door. I wondered if there was a way I could Uber back to his place without being an asshole. There was probably no graceful way of bowing out though.

“You look really nice. That dress is very pretty and colors look really good on you,” Edward said suddenly, clearing his throat and shifting in his seat before continuing. “It makes me really happy that you agreed to come. I don't think I would have any fun knowing you weren't.”

“Thank you...” I glanced over in his direction before looking back out the window. “It would have been okay, by the way. I'd understand if you wanted to get rid of me for a few hours. I've been in your space for almost a week now.”

“No, I don't want to get rid of you at all. I have really enjoyed having you around the past week,” he turned his face towards me but it was hard to see his features in the darkness. His voice was low but insistent. 

I felt my stomach twist nervously. I didn't know what to say to that. Of course, I liked being around him. Who wouldn't? “You just like my cooking,” I finally answered, unable to think of how to answer him without giving too much of myself away.

He seemed flustered. “No. I mean... yeah. Of course, I do... I really like your cooking but that not why.”

We were silent for a beat. I couldn't bear to ask him why. He was flirting with me but I was leaving in a day. I wasn't going to be a one night stand, even if I would have enjoyed it. In the long run, it wouldn't be good for my mental health.“You must be ready to have my camera out of your face all the time,” I repeated. I almost wanted it to be true. I needed him to tell me to go away. I wanted him to hurt my feeling so I could move on. 

“I don't know if you have noticed, but it's kinda my thing,” he said as we came to stop under a street light. Our eyes met and held the gaze until we started moving again. He was being so serious. This was not the same kind of flirting he did with the blond.

After a few minutes, we finally arrived in the parking lot of the club. We didn't say anything else to one another.

Eddie suddenly shifted and turned on his charm again, smiling widely. “So, you're going to have to pretend to be my date to get in.”

I laughed despite myself, “oh, do I? Really?”

He adjusted his tie carefully “Oh yes, it's on a list. Edward Cullen and his date. Zafrina said so. Don't worry, it'll be real easy. I'll be a perfect gentleman.”

“I hope you don't think you're going to get anything else out of me that easily,” I teased him just as he opened his door. He came around the car and opened my door for me. He offered me his hand and I slipped out into the night.

“One can dream,” he offered me his arm and we made our way around a line, his bodyguard for the event following behind us. As soon as people realized that Edward was there they spread like the Red Sea and cameras began to click around us. He smiled for the pictures but kept walking. 

“EDDIE!” They screamed him. “WHO ARE YOU?” They screamed at me. It was rather unnerving. My feet were moving but I felt like he was the one propelling us forward.

The doorman held the door open without a word, leading us into the purple and blue lights of the thumping club. There was a man on the other side waiting for us so he could escort us to the VIP area. Eyes followed us as we went. Champagne was waiting for us in the private area that overlooked the rest of the dance floor. There was a private bar just for us. 

“You're off the clock,” Edward poured me a large glass of the bubbling liquid before handing it to me as I sat on a crushed velvet couch. He sat very close beside me. “A toast to landing safely.”

We clinked glasses. It was so easy to drink. No doubt it was very expensive. 

It was like drinking stars. I always thought that when I drank champagne. Aiden first told me the story about the monks who drank the first sparkling wine at our wedding. It was the first time I drank champagne. This was much better champagne though than what I had at my wedding. I pushed the memories out of my mind. I tried to avoid thinking about them as much as possible. Sometimes it made me angry when Aiden would decide to invade my mind. 

The loveseats we were occupying were very overstuffed and soft and the big pillows pushed me even closer to Edward. He was lounging with his arm across the back behind me. He drank his champagne in silence, occasionally looking over at me before glancing away. Whenever my glass threatened to be empty he quickly refilled it and then would top up his own. He was drinking much faster than me though.

“So, do you think you got the pictures you needed?” He asked finally. I was already into my third glass and felt very warm. I suddenly realized we hadn't eaten anything since much earlier in the day. His breath was very close to my ear and it made me tingle. 

“I hope so. I think they're great. Some are really beautiful. I'm proud of them,” I told him honestly. “I've been editing every night before I go to sleep. And, every morning when I get up too.”

He was so beautiful. And so close. “That's great! I knew when I first saw you... you were the perfect one for me. Your work, I mean.”

He quickly finished his champagne and poured himself another glass. Another one of the guys from earlier at the jump came in then. Edward hopped up to greet him, the bartender bringing a fresh bottle of champagne to the coffee table. 

“Daniel, you remember Bella from earlier,” Edward introduced me again, surprising me. I had almost expected to be ignored once the others arrived at the party like the other after party. I would have been fine with that.

“You didn't bring your camera!” Daniel said as he sat on the winged back chair across from us. 

“No photography allowed,” I gestured to dance floor. He nodded. 

“Have you ever been to anything like this before?” Daniel asked, sipping his drink. He was a rather average looking middle-aged man with thick black rimmed glasses and curly brown hair.

“An after party for a skydive to promote a video game? No,” I laughed at the absurdity of it all. “The New York club scene is better but I haven't been in a while. I've been working.”

“What's better about the New York clubs?” The voice actor asked, leaning forward to hear my answer. 

“Oh. Well. They're in New York. Obviously,” I told him dryly.

Daniel hadn’t been expecting that sarcastic of an answer and when I didn’t expand further he made a little face of confusion. Edward snickered to himself quietly, scratching his upper lip with his thumb to hide it. 

Daniel smiled weakly then ordered a stronger drink. The boys spoke for a few moments about the game and then the jump itself. More people slowly began to trickle in. Edward introduced me politely to them, never leaving my side. My drink, as if by magic, never became empty. My head felt heavy on the couch and music was so loud. I couldn't keep up with their conversation and didn't wish to try. They were talking about the weather again, of all the boring things. I didn’t know what they could be discussing. It was always sunny in Los Angeles. 

“Would you like to dance with me?” Edward said quietly into my ear. His face seemed so close, soft and sweet. I must have been staring for a moment too long because he asked, “please?”

His eyes were big and green, his lashes naturally perfectly curled. I was so close I could see all of the tiny light little freckles that dotted across his cheeks and nose, even in the darkness. He was so handsome. We were so close that I could feel his breath on my skin. If I leaned in even a little bit we would have been kissing.

All I could do was nod my head slowly. 

Once again he propelled us forward. As we moved to the dance floor a new song started. Something slow with a hard steady beat. I placed my hands on his chest and began to move to the sound slowly. His hands found my hips and he moved in time with me. When I looked up, he was looking down at me so intently. His eyes were so focused on me, half-lidded, and his mouth tight. I couldn't handle the embarrassed flush that spread over my cheeks so I turned so that my back was against his chest. One of his hands went over my arm and shoulder, pushing my hair away from my neck. Electricity bolted through my skin where he touched. His other hand rested lightly on my stomach, holding us together as we danced. I put my hand on top of his and he wove his fingers into mine.

I felt weak in the knees. I couldn't fall in his arms though. Glancing over my shoulder, I caught his hot stare. It was fire. In his eyes. In my stomach. He smiled ever so slightly and my lips wanted his own so badly. I had to stop myself from closing the short distance between us again. They felt so nice earlier. But I didn't have an excuse to anymore. 

Could he feel the heat? Or, was it just me? Was it just the club?

He was a good dancer. He was easily keeping up with me. I knew I was a decent dancer, too. I could barely breathe, though. Or think. So, it probably wasn’t that hard to do so.

I was drunk.

We danced for several songs in a row. But finally, I couldn't take it anymore. My chest felt tight and my head throbbed. “I need some water and air,” I brought my hand up to his neck so he would lower his head and I could whisper into his ear.

“Yeah,” he agreed, taking my hand to lead me through the crowd again. It wrapped around mine entirely, it was so big and surprisingly soft. He took us back up to the VIP area to grab us both a bottle of water before finding some door to the rooftop that was just supposed to be for employees. His bodyguard kept at least twenty feet between us, giving us space the entire time. He waited for us just on the other side of the door to give us privacy.

After the heat of the club, I instantly had goosebumps in the night air. Edward noticed and slipped his jacket over my shoulders. It was huge on me and hung well past my dress. There was a cement bench where employees sat to smoke out of the club. I rushed to sit on it, taking a long drink of my water. I was very dizzy and had to close my eyes to keep the world from spinning. 

Edward sat beside me, looking out over the street. “You know. I've been thinking... It wouldn't be terrible to hire a professional photographer for the channel.”

“Yeah?” I kept my eyes closed, letting the air hit my cheeks. 

“Yeah. You've been super helpful this week. I learned a lot.”

“That's good,” I didn't know what else to say. I opened my eyes and looked over at him. He was still looking forward. I wondered what he had learned exactly.

“I don't suppose you'd be interested?” He asked shyly. Quietly. It was almost sad.

I looked at my hands. What was he doing? “Eddie, I live across the country.”

“Yeah. I know. Well. It was worth a shot,” he took another drink of his water, still looking forward all the while. It was like he was trying to focus really hard on something in the distance.

“If I lived here, I'd say yes in a heartbeat,” I assured him. Though I'm not sure I could work for him and be needlessly crushing on him all the while. That would be torture. I had already crossed the line with him earlier by kissing him. I wasn't being professional anymore.

“I don't want tomorrow to be the last day I see you,” he suddenly looked at me, shifting his weight to turn completely towards me. I felt my heart thud in my ribs. I pulled his coat around me tighter as I swallowed back my nervous stomach. “I've grown rather fond of you, Bella.”

“I'm fond of you as well. But... It's not like you don't have my number now,” I reminded him, thinking back to the emojis from earlier in the week. “We are friends now, right?”

He smiled an almost pained smile and nodded. “We are. That is true,” he finished his water and stood. “Let's go get more to liquor. I need a beer.”

“Then would you like to dance again?” I asked, not wanting the evening with him to be over yet.

His smile returned fully as he offered me his hand again. I took it and stood. 

“Yes, please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter eleven- 

 

I drank too much. We got in so late. I didn't set an alarm but I woke up around ten in the morning. I didn't expect to see Edward but he was already awake and was making coffee in the kitchen just like I showed him how to before. If I had known I would have gotten ready before coming out of the room. I looked like death.

He made me a mug and put it in his normal spot by the bar. “I hope it's good.”

“Thanks,” I took a small sip. “What are we doing today?”

Edward was somehow cheerful. “Well, Sundays I normally take a day off. I lay around the house. Usually. But I don't want to do that today. I think I want to go out for a while. Want to get some brunch?”

“Whatever you want to do. I'm just here for the ride,” I told him. I felt tired. And sad. My heart wasn't in it anymore. I was ready to go home.

“Let's get brunch then. We'll take an Uber so we can have mimosas,” he said overly perky. I had cotton mouth and felt my age.

“I need to shower first.”

“Of course,” he smiled at me brightly. “I'll be editing in my office whenever you're ready. No rush, just let me know.”

I took a long hot shower, letting it wash away some of my painful hangover. I was at the end of my clean clothes and only had a couple of outfits to choose from for the day. Blue jean shorts and a tee shirt would have to do. I put on my makeup to cover up the circles under my eyes. Thankfully I had a big pair of sunglasses. 

I gently knocked on his office door, pushing it open ever so slightly. Eddie was sitting at his computer working on the videos from the day before. I couldn't hear the audio but on the screen, I was talking to him animatedly and he was smiling and laughing in return. I wonder what I had said to him. I couldn’t remember. 

“Ready when you are,” I told him softly. 

Edward picked out a restaurant and reserved a table on the way there. He chatted the entire time, way too pleasantly for someone who should have been hungover too. Maybe he was just still drunk. If so, lucky him. 

Edward ordered two mimosas as soon as we sat down. “You're off the clock,” he said again when they came to the table. 

“No, I'm not,” I pushed it towards him.

He pushed it back. “Okay, well. Just one then. I know you like champagne.”

“One, ”I agreed because my head hurt. “Can I also have some water?” I asked the waitress when she came to the table. I took some aspirin with it when she brought it to me. 

I ordered eggs Benedict with crab and steak with a side of sliced tomatoes and a cup of fruit while he ordered a french toast with bananas fosters on top. 

“So, what else do you want to do or did you just want to eat?” I asked, taking a picture of him mid-sip of champagne. He held up his glass and posed with a stupid smile so I could take another picture. 

“I think I want to go to the zoo today. It's not too far from here.”

“Oh...” I drew out softly.

“Is that okay?” He suddenly seemed panicked. 

I shook my head. “Oh yeah, I'm just surprised.”

“Well, you mentioned it yesterday and it sounded like fun. I haven't done anything like that in ages. It'll be nice to do something wholesome,” he explained. “If you don't want to, it's alright.”

“No, I want to. It sounds great,” I assured him. I wonder if I had enough energy to give him the attention he deserved.

When our food came his plate was massive with eight thick slices of toast. “How are you going to eat all that?” I laughed. It had to be too much even for him. 

He put two pieces on a side plate that had his bacon on it previously and pushed it in my direction. “Like that.”

I wasn't going to turn it down. I gave him a bite of my eggs off my fork. The way his mouth wrapped around the tines and he licked his lips after made me tingly all up my spine. “Mmm,” he moaned his approval. I was feeling a little jealous of the fork.

I pushed my lips together tightly and took in a deep breath. It was going to be a long day for me. 

The zoo was a little busy since it was a nice Sunday afternoon. He bought our tickets while I took about a hundred pictures just at the entrance. At least I didn't stand out with my camera equipment. 

First, we went into the children's zoo where Edward had way too much fun petting goats. Then we made our way past the meerkats and flamingos. We made a slow pace, chatting as we went. It was literally a perfect day outside. Just a little windy to cool the warm humid air. 

“So, what's your favorite animal?” He asked me. Edward reached over and took my camera from my hands and took a picture of me in front of the greater flamingos. He seemed pleased with the result and took another. He smiled at me from over my camera when I posed a little for him.

“Um,” I drew out as I thought about it with a smile. “Zoo animal? I'd say otters. Or maybe capybara. They're supposed to be really friendly. Like a hamster. What about you?”

“Oh, hm. I don't know. Foxes are cute. I liked lions as a kid,” he took a couple of steps back and took another picture. He bit his lip as he looked at the result. 

I took my camera back from him. “I half expected you to say kangaroo,” I told him dryly and very sarcastically. 

“Kangaroos can get fucked,” he said with heated conviction. I was so shocked I laughed too loudly. “No, fuck those mean twats. I got kicked by one as a kid in my backyard.”

The image threw me into giggles, “oh, no! Poor baby!”

“I've got a scar,” he lifted his shirt to show me a three-inch scar on his torso. It was very faint and very low on his hips. I quickly took his picture and he gasped, pulling his shirt down. “Modesty!”

“I want you to know that I was making an Aussie stereotype joke and you out stereotyped me. Bravo. Got any dingo or koala scars?” I taunted him. “Wanna show me your Drop bear wounds?”

“No,” he said quietly with a little pout. “Dingoes are bloody scary, though.”

Edward was patient with me as we went through the zoo, allowing me to stop for as long as I wanted to take pictures of him or the animals. We spent the entire afternoon there. 

I took over a thousand pictures by the time we were done. 

“So, what's next?” I asked him as we waited for a car to come to pick us back up. 

“You'll see.”

He wouldn't say anything else. I couldn't understand why he was being so mysterious about it. We were almost there when I realized. 

“Santa Monica pier? Really?”

He shrugged a little bit. “Yeah, I thought we could see the sunset here and get some seafood for dinner.”

“You didn't have to do all of this for me,” I said quietly, feeling very shy. 

“Are you having fun?”

“Are you?” I asked him in return. 

“Isn't it obvious?” He asked me.

“I could ask you the same,” I replied, smiling at him before feeling self-conscious. I bit my lip and looked at the window. “I can't imagine a better last day than this. Thanks.” 

“I'm glad you're happy,” he said warmly. 

We walked along the beach as it slowly became dusk. Music could be heard everywhere and Eddie playfully danced along and mouthed the words to some of the songs. 

I was going to have a million pictures to edit. Mostly of him being foolish. I didn’t mind.

He took my camera and bag from me at dinner. “Alright. That's it. No more, Bella. You're done for the day. You're going to relax. Get whatever you want and save room for dessert, okay?”

“Fine,” I was too tired to want to argue. We were at a snug little table somewhere in a corner again. We were very close together. Edward ordered us a bottle of wine to share. It was the same as the other night at his house.

“You know, I'm surprised no one recognized you today,” I told him when the waiter left our table.

Edward looked a little self-conscious. “Well, I'm mainly a voice actor.”

“You have like twenty million followers.”

“Spread out around the globe. There are seven billion people on the planet. It's not that many,” he tried to be humble about it but I rolled my eyes. “I'm not a big deal out here.”

“Yes, you are. You're just not as big a deal as you're going to be... yet. You're going to be a household name one day. It's pretty obvious,” I pointed out to him. “You've already have an amazing resume and it's only getting better every day.”

He swallowed a big drink of the yellow liquid in his glass. “God, you do fluff my ego so. I mean, I like it. I don't think that will be true but it's so sweet that you feel that way.”

I shook my head, playing with my own wine glass. I traced my fingers over the rim. “Edward, you are wildly talented. And smart. And you are what? Twenty four? Look at what you've accomplished so far. And you just started with Disney! You've already won a Grammy! And you've not mentioned that once this entire week. I'd tell everyone and their mothers. I'd start conversations with 'hi, I'm the Bella Swan who won a Grammy'.”

“That was just for reading a book,” he shook his head. “It wasn't anything special.”

“Well, I listened to it when I realized I was working with you and I understand why it won. I could listen to you speak for hours,” I confessed. I took in a deep breath when I realized what had come out of my mouth. God, I must have sounded like a lovesick teen girl. I was so embarrassed. 

“You are so lovely,” he said sincerely. “I started doing all of this to deal with my anxiousness and to help boost my self-confidence when I was having a really hard time. I never imagined I would be doing this six or eight years later. I didn’t realize that my entire life had been leading up to this moment. It's better than I ever imagined though.”

“You deserve it. You've worked so hard.” I touched his hand. He turned his palm up and squeezed it for a moment.

Our waiter came with our food. I moved my hands to my lap.

Our conversation was much lighter throughout the rest of dinner. I was too tired. We didn't speak at all the entire ride back to his house. It was just after nine. Where had the week gone? I wanted to cry. Why did he have to be so wonderful? 

“What time is your flight tomorrow?” He asked quietly, almost solemnly. 

“Noon. So, I'll need to leave by ten to get to the airport,” I explained to him. 

He stopped and considered his words for a long minute before he began to speak. “I realize you probably need to pack and get to sleep but would you like to sit by the pool with me for a little while?”

“Yeah, let me put my camera away and get cleaned up,” I told him. “I'll meet you down there.”

I hurried to my room and put my camera on the bed. I had kept all of my stuff together so there really wasn't a need to pack. I rushed through a shower, removing all the sand and sweat from the day. The only other outfit I had clean was for the next day so I just put on my black nightgown that went to my knees. It wasn't obviously pajamas but I don't think it would have bothered him either way. 

When I arrived he was halfway through a joint. I sat beside him on the outdoor loveseat. Edward offered it to me and I took it from his fingers. I took a long slow drag before passing it back to him. 

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

“You're welcome,” he took a hit and passed it back. I took another drag and relaxed back into the cushion with my feet underneath me. “Thank you,” he said to me.

“For what?”

He didn't look at me, shrugging one shoulder up lazily.

“Everything.”

I shook my head. “I haven't done anything special.”

“That's not true in the least.” Silence hung in the air. Edward lit the joint again, passing it over to me. I took one last hit before declining more. “Will I be able to see all the pictures you've taken?”

“Oh, yeah. The magazine should show you everything,” I assured him. 

“No. I mean for your personal collection.”

“Oh,” I was a little surprised for some reason “Yeah if you want to. I can give you the link to where I upload them. I forgot to earlier in the week.”

He pulled out his phone, opening up the notepad feature. “Why don't you give me all your contact information? Just so I know I have it. I'm sure I have it somewhere but just so it's easy.”

I took it from him. I gave him my cell number again which he already had. My email. My home address. The website I kept my personal pictures for only my friends and family.

It was just after ten. I placed the phone faced down on the table. 

The lights of the city looked so beautiful. Clouds dotted the horizon that seemed so far away. It was an amazing view. The wind had picked up and the air felt great. I could see why he would want to live there. 

We sat in silence for a long time. He finished his smoke and quietly sipped his water. He snubbed the butt in the tray with a little sigh.

I didn't want to but I stood, “ I need to head to bed. I have a long day tomorrow.”

“Right. Of course,” he said very quietly.

“If I don't see you before I leave, it was marvelous and I'll remember this week for the rest of my life. If I ever have grandchildren I'll get to tell them about the week I spent with Eddie Cullen,” I said lightly but I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes. I couldn't let him see that so I rushed away. “Goodnight,” I told him when I got to the door. 

“Goodnight,” Edward replied softly. When I looked back at the glass door he was watching me leave with the saddest expression. He forced a smile before picking up another joint and lighting it. I turned away and went back to my room for the final night. 

I didn't cry, but I had to wipe tears away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter twelve- 

 

For the first time in the week, the morning was not sunny. It was a lonesome gray with angry clouds filling the normally blue sky. The rain was coming down slowly like a dripping faucet, in fat heavy drops. I hadn't looked at the weather in a few days and it took me a little by surprise. LA wasn't known for its rain and there hadn't even been a chance last time I looked. But that was a week before. Last Monday or Tuesday, maybe? Edward had talked about rain with others I realized as I thought about it. I couldn’t remember any of the details though. I had been too lost in my own daydreams. 

I hadn't slept much the night before. Or, really at all. I thought about Edward and what I was going to do with these... feelings. The likelihood of me never seeing him after the morning was nearly one hundred percent, as sad as it made me. I hated that I had a crush like a child. He was a celebrity and he had access to a lot prettier girls than me. Younger women. Or, men. I was sure I wasn't the first person to be so struck by him. And Edward was charming with me but he was probably that way with everyone. He flirted easily enough with the girl from the party. At least, that's what I told myself.

My bags were packed for my flight back home and I had showered again already before the sun had even come up. I was trying to relax to get to sleep, but it didn’t work. I had edited probably three hundred images of Edward, his home, and our amazing days together instead of resting like I should have been. My phone and spare batteries were fully charged, as was my laptop. All I had to do was put them in my backpack and go. There was nothing else for me to do but wait the two hours until I had to go to the airport. Edward wasn't a morning person so I didn't expect to see him. Especially after such a long busy weekend. 

That is until I heard the gentle tapping on the door. I almost mistook it for the rain. I had to wait for the second knock to be sure. It was just before eight in the morning.

“Yeah?” I quickly stood from the bed, smoothing my clothes and closing my laptop. 

Edward slowly opened the door to peak in, “I... saw the light. I'm not waking you?”

“Of course not,” I told him with a forced smile. “What are you doing awake? I didn't expect to see you this morning.”

“I've not been asleep, to be honest,” he said it with very little hint of his normal cheerfulness. “I worked on editing all night.”

“Me too,” I took a few steps forward and he came into the room a little more to meet me in the middle. The rain began to fall harder, hitting the glass of the windows with little clicks and clanks. 

“So, I know that it's really important to you to remain professional while you're working,” he began but he seemed to struggle to find the right words.

“It is,” I agreed, though I certainly hadn't remained very professional in the past few days. “But, I'm off the clock right now,” I used his line from before.

He took a deep breath like he had to steel himself. “Bella, I meant it when I said that I am very fond-” Lightning crashed not far from us, loudly cracking to the ground and shaking the whole house. We both jumped a half foot closer to one another. There was the loud explosion outside that shocked us both so that he took me by the arms as if he was about to protect me from something. The lights flickered off after a second. A transformer must have blown from the lightning strike. Car alarms could be heard beeping outside out of sync. 

I was grabbing onto his shirt, holding onto it as I looked back over my shoulder at the storm brewing outside through the large window. When I looked back he was looking directly into my eyes. He wasn't smiling, his face was earnest and worried.

“Isabella, I like you,” he said loudly in the electricity-free silence. A little too loudly. “I am more than just fond of you,” he said more softly after he cleared his throat. 

“I like you, too Edward. So much,” the words came out before I had time to think about them.

“I have such strong feeling for you. I'm kind of overwhelmed by them because honestly I've not felt like this about a person before and I thought I had-” he was interrupted again by the loud ringing of my cell phone. I knew the tone instantly. I let go of his shirt as I had just been caught doing something naughty in church by my grandmother. 

“That's my boss. I have to take this,” I said with a red hot flush covering my entire face. I was actually so warm that I was dizzy. I mumbled, “I'm so sorry.” It was a warm wet slap of reality.

“No, go ahead. I understand.” He let go of me so I could go get my phone from the nightstand.

“Hello,” I answered but with my free hand I reached out to him. His smile returned for the first time. Edward closed the gap between us and he took my hand into his, quickly bringing it to his mouth so he could kiss my knuckles. I had to hold back a childish giggle of delight. 

“Hey, Bella- it's Jessica. I've got some bad news. I was just checking my email and I got one from the airline. It was forwarded to me too since I made your arrangements. Your flight has just been canceled due to the weather. I wanted to make sure you knew as soon as possible. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Um. no. You didn’t. Wow, I didn't realize it was that bad,” Edward held my hand as I spoke, our eyes locked onto the one another. He could hear the call as well. His smile grew even wider.

“Yeah. There is a good chance that tomorrow's flights will be canceled or at the very least delayed. So, I negotiated with the airline and got you fifteen hundred in credit to get a flight out whenever you want, weather permitting. But, I can't give you any extra cash for a hotel or food,” she explained, obviously concerned. She had gone above and beyond already though. “I’m sorry.” 

I was giddy, talking way too fast, “no, that's not a problem. I can afford to be a tourist for a couple of days. That's amazing about the credit. It's so much! When do I need to use the credit by?”

“It doesn't expire. And, you don't have to use it all at once. It's like a gift card. I sent everything to your email,” she said, obviously worried for me.

“That's great, actually. Thanks. Maybe I can have a little vacation since I'm here. Stay an extra day or two. Give them a few days to catch up from the madness this is sure to cause,” I told Edward as much as I told her. He nodded. 

“You are welcome to stay for as long as you want,” Edward assured me as he squeezed my hand gently. 

I brought my hand up to his face to brush my fingers over his cheek. “Thank you,” I said quietly. His skin was so soft. He had just shaved and I could smell his body wash on his freshly showered skin. 

“Is he there?” Jessica said excitedly, whispering loudly like he couldn't still hear her over the tremendously loud phone. 

“Yes. He's very sweet.”

He brought my palm to his lips and he kissed it lightly, his eyelashes fluttering lightly against his cheek as he did. I was having a little trouble breathing. An aching began to grow in the pit of my stomach.

Damn, he is pretty. And, he is kissing me like that. 

“Oh, really? You'll have to tell me all about it... later. Send me your edits by the end of next week though.” Jessica pulled my attention back to her. 

“Not a problem,” I assured her. I had probably already edited the ones I liked the most anyway. I had at least two thousand pictures to send in total. I wasn’t sure if it's what they wanted, but it was what they were getting. I could probably send them enough to double that though, but it would have been a bit too repetitive. 

“Enjoy your vacation and stay safe from the storm. It's supposed to be really bad. Like a few inches of rain and really strong wind. Flooding, too. Be careful.”

“I will,” I promised before hanging up the phone. I tossed it onto the bed and looked back at the handsome man standing across from me. “Oh, darn,” I said dryly. “My flight was canceled and I won't be able to reschedule for at least a day. Maybe even two.”

“Oh, no,” he mimicked my tone. “That. Is. Terrible.”

Well, when fate gives you a chance...

I decided to literally jump him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hopped so that I could wind my legs around his waist. He caught me easily in his thick strong arms, holding me up as I pressed my mouth against his.

“I want you,” I told him simply between hot wet kisses. 

His lips were soft but insistent, his grip so tight on my thighs it hurt in a good way. I held his face in my hands, trying to desperately keep up with his mouth. Edward was an amazing kisser. I wasn't surprised. His mouth was perfection.

We continued to kiss as he carried me out into the hall. “My room?” He asked against my mouth, pulling only a few millimeters away. I couldn’t have cared less where he carried me off to, as long as he was holding me.

I nodded my answer before kissing him again harder. 

The feather down blanket was thick and soft against my back as he laid me down in the center of his king-sized bed. He knelt over me, my legs dangling over the edge of the mattress. His mouth explored my neck and the exposed skin of my chest. 

“Is this okay?” He asked between quick kisses of my lips that spread all over my cheeks. “I don't want to rush you. I wasn't-”

“I jumped you. Literally,” I laughed as rubbed my fingers underneath his tee shirt. It felt so good, his skin delightfully soft. I slid my hands up until I pulled his shirt over his head. We kissed for several minutes as my hands mapped out his very tight muscles. 

His hips seemed to fit perfectly between my legs, one of his hands holding my thigh as it wrapped around his waist. We ground against each other like teenagers. He moaned and hissed when I tugged my fingers through his hair, pulling him back so I could begin to kiss his neck and catch my breath. 

He likes hair pulling, noted.

With a surprising amount of deft, he unbuttoned my shirt and pushed his large hands underneath my tank top. I lifted myself up and pulled off my purple flannel before he peeled off the white undershirt that clung tightly to me. 

“Oh, they're perfect,” he moaned loudly as he shoved his face into my favorite purple lace bra covered breasts. I couldn't help but laugh and hug his head to my chest for a moment. I then reached behind me and undid the hooks for him. Edward pulled the straps from my arms and threw the item to the floor dramatically over his shoulder. He smiled as if he had just won the lottery. 

He covered my chest in hot kisses, not missing a single inch of my breasts. He saved the nipples for last and when he finally touched them with his tongue I could have cried with happiness. My nails scratched along his back before I dipped my hands into the back of his basketball short to grab his very fine ass. 

Edward was not wearing any underwear. God Bless. 

He gasped when I squeezed as tight as I could with both hands. 

“You cheeky little thing,” he nipped at the soft underside of my breast, making me squeal and laugh. 

“I like your ass so much,” I confessed as he came up for another kiss on my mouth. I slid one of my hands up his back while the other gripped him again. I could feel his erection press against my jeans.

“I've honestly never been told that before,” he said into my ear, his skin so hot against my cheek. The sweat was already beginning to form on his forehead in the air-conditionless room. 

“It looked so good in your flight suit,” I whispered against his temple. 

I kissed away the sweat and pressed my lips along his ear before tugging at it with my teeth. He undid the button of my jeans and together we forced them off my legs. I laid in front of him in only my faded Halloween panties from probably five years ago. 

I suddenly realized I needed to visit a Victoria's secret or something. At least a Target. 

Edward’s smile brightened when he saw them. They had happy little purple vampire bats on them. “Love them,” he mumbled as he moved his hand first down my stomach then between my legs over the fabric of my underwear. He was slow and gentle as he rubbed my clit through the thin fabric, increasing the pressure until my back was arched and I clutched to him as he kissed my chest again. 

The first time he slid his fingers further down I could feel the fabric of my panties become soaked with my own arousal. 

“Oh, fuck...” I whined as my head rolled back into the side of the blanket. 

He slid two of his fingers underneath my panties and ran them over my already throbbing clit. Working me as he had before but with more pressure, he began to speed up and as he did his hand became slick with me. All the while giving me the most delicious hickey on the side of my breast, just beside my nipple.

He came up for a kiss on my lips then looked me in the eyes. He was so sweet and almost nervous. “Tell me what to do.”

I brought my hand down to where he was inside of me and showed him how hard I wanted him to press without words, arching my hips up to meet his fingers. When he had it just right I slid my own up to my clit, rubbing it gently with two of my fingers. 

Edward actually gasped when he felt me tighten around him for the first time. 

“Oh, my god,” he muttered before attacking my mouth. I tightened even more around him as I began to cum. I had already been so close before. “Yes, please. Oh, my god,” he said between kisses.

“Don't stop,” I begged over and over again as one turned into another. I bucked off the bed and kicked at the edge as my feet tried to find purchase from the power of it. I hadn't gotten off like it in ages. My toes actually curled into the blanket. It felt like a week of slow foreplay had led to this moment.

When it became too much, my body jerked away instinctively before then curling into him. He kissed along my hairline, a slightly crooked smile on his plush lips. 

“Is that normal for you? Getting off more than once?”

“I'm really easy,” I admitted softly, embarrassed as I panted a little. “I've always been. I'm pretty good at getting myself off.”

“I can see that. And, I am very impressed. It's a skill I've mastered as well,” he teased in his playfully deep voice. 

“I bet you have. I'd like to see your skills in action,” I moved my hand down his side and tugged at the band of his basketball shorts. I nibbled on his ear. “Do you have condoms?”

“Yes!” He answered as he quickly hopped off the bed and went to his bedside table. He had a brand new unopened box. I tugged off my totally soaked panties and crawled up the bed so that I could help him. His hands were actually shaking a little as he ripped the condom from the row. I sat on my knees and took it from him, putting it to the side for a moment so I could tug down his shorts. 

Edward was big. Bigger than I had expected though smaller than I had joked to Alice about. Thick might have been a better word but he wasn't short by any means. It was perfectly pink, standing completely erect and uncut. 

Damn.

I went down on my hands and knees so I could suck on him. I don't think he was expecting it though, a visible shiver of pleasure running through him as his breath went ragged.

I had always loved oral. Giving always made me feel so powerful. The noises he made were not voluntary and I could feel his thighs tremble. When I looked up at him his head was resting to one side, his eyes shut tightly with his teeth biting deeply into his bottom lip. I knew I could finish him with my mouth but I wanted more than that. When I pulled away I gave a final lick in one slow motion while still stroking him with my hand. 

“Thank you,” he breathed as I kissed his stomach, his fingers weaving gently into my hair. 

“You're so polite,” I teased him, kissing his mouth. His face was flaming red. I loved it. I continued to slowly play with him. 

“It's not nice to be... rude to the woman... who is doing good… amazing... uh... things to you,” he struggled to say, panting as he did. He had to concentrate to get the words out. 

“I can see your logic,” I kissed along his jaw, tugging his hair back with my free hand. He jerked in my other hand. “I don't think that's what you like though. Being polite.”

“I think I'll like whatever you want to do to me.”

“That's dangerous,” I teased him again, finally reaching for the condom. “What if I'm really, really, really kinky?”

He smiled at me. “Promises, promises.” 

I grinned from ear to ear. 

I opened the wrapper, looking him directly in the eyes as I did so. “Just so you know, I'm going to ruin you for other women.”

He looked me over hungrily. “Already done.”

I wanted to laugh with absolute joy. 

I slipped the condom onto him and shoved him down to the bed. Straddling Edward's waist, I leaned down to deeply kiss him on lips. As I did he ran his hands over my thighs, gripping my ass. 

Even as wet as I was, I had to slowly push myself down onto him. I could feel him deep in my stomach, my head leaned back as I pushed my hair out of my face with one hand. Gently I began to rock on top of him, his hands squeezing my hips as he helped me to find the perfect rhythm for us. When we found it I began to play with my clit again. 

“Ohhhh...” he drew out as he threw his head back against the pillows. His hips tightened underneath me, his sweat on my thighs. It wasn't hard to cum again as I called out his name. It was too much for him as he felt me tightened around him. His hands squeezed my waist, forcing me down hard on top of him over and over again with increasing speed. Edward went silent for his own orgasm, his face twisting into the pillows as he thrust up wildly into me. 

I leaned down to kiss his shoulder when he finished, pulling myself off of him but still resting on his chest. We laid in silence as we tried to catch our breath. We were like that for several minutes.

Lightning brought me back to reality, shaking the house around us. We still didn't have power. I moved off of him silently and went to the bathroom, washing my hands and cleaning up. When I came back he had removed the condom and was throwing it away. Edward went to the bathroom to clean up as well and I took that opportunity to get underneath his super soft blanket that definitely needed to be cleaned. 

I reached for him when he got out and he smiled an almost shy grin as he rushed over to join me under the covers. His arms wrapped around me and my body felt like it fit perfectly against his. I was so tiny against him. I felt so safe and warm.

We fell asleep holding each other within a few minutes. 

It was still daytime when I woke and it was still raining. The power was still off, too. Edward’s big arm draped over my hip, his hand on my stomach while his chest pressed against my back. He was asleep. The gentle rise and fall of his chest as he slowly breathed was very soothing.

I got up quietly and put on his tee shirt which fell to my knees. I couldn’t find my shirts. I went to my bedroom to look at my phone. It was two in the afternoon and I had missed several messages from Alice asking about my flight. 

I texted her back quickly. She was working. “Sorry I missed your call and texts. Forgot to message you this morning. My flight got canceled. I won't be able to fly out for a few days. I'll let you know when I know more.”

“What were you doing?” She texted back right away. “Where will you stay?”

“I fell back asleep. I couldn't sleep last night. Eddie invited me to stay with him, so no worries. Sorry to worry you earlier. I got distracted. The power is out because of the weather so I'm going to conserve my phone battery. I'll talk to you later.”

“Be careful and tell me everything when you get a chance.”

I put my phone on power saver mode and put it back on the nightstand. There wasn't anyone else I wanted to talk to that day besides Edward. 

I couldn't make coffee so I made myself a glass of milk and went to look out over the pool. The storm had knocked over one of the chairs but that seemed to be it. There were few lights to be seen out towards the city. 

I glanced over my shoulder and realized Edward was watching me from the darkness of the hallway. He was wearing only his basketball shorts. 

“Hi,” he said quietly. 

“Hi there.” I felt very shy.

Edward took a few steps out of the darkness. “So, that was something else.”

“It was,” I suddenly felt very timid. Where had my confidence from earlier gone? “I guess we have things to talk about now.”

“I want to date you,” he said bluntly, quickly. Like he had to get it out. “I want you to be my girlfriend. I mean, I want to be with you. If you’ll have me.”

It made me smile and made me feel sad all at the same time. “I live on the opposite coast, Eddie.”

“I already travel a lot for my work. I've gone to New York a few times. I can come to see you and I can fly you out to see me whenever you want,” Edward said softly. “There are more ways than ever to keep a long distance relationship working. And I could always move to New York. I could do my work anywhere. Or, maybe one day I can convince you to move here. There isn't a better city for photographers than LA. Look, this week with you has been one of the best of my life and I already know that I don't want to miss this chance with you, Bella. If you feel the same way.”

“Isn't it obvious how I feel about you?” I asked him, embarrassed by my own feelings. “But I can't afford to fly whenever I want, Edward.”

“I'll pay for your tickets.”

I shook my head. “That's not fair. I don't want you to feel like I'm using you ever.”

“Darling, no. I wouldn't. I'm offering. Honestly though, If I could have my way you'd just never leave and that would fix that problem,” he said half-jokingly. 

I glance back out the window again into the rain. “I have to go back to New York eventually. Probably on Thursday or Friday. You have to work, too. We can't let this keep us from our responsibilities.”

“Would you consider staying a week at least? I'll take care of everything. Give me a chance to convince you to stay with me forever,” he closed the distance between us and took my hand from my side. “Please?”

“A week?”

“Or, two?” His smile grew childishly wide as he saw he was winning. I sighed as my resolved slipped.

“A week. It's cheaper to fly out on a Tuesday or a Wednesday anyway. But I don't want to get in the way of your work.”

Edward was grinning happily. “Last night I got a week's worth of editing done. I'm way ahead. Besides, you make me feel so inspired. There are about thirty things I want to write down once I get a chance. After I get us some food, of course.”

“We might be stuck with Little Debbies and Pringles. You should check the weather and if there is a break we should go to the stores to get supplies for the lights being out. You are very much lacking in that department.”

“You're right but first,” he pulled me fully into his arms and kissed me lightly. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

“Oh, my god. Are we in high school?” I teased him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I clicked my tongue and rolled my eyes playfully. “Gonna, like, take me to prom and stuff?”

“Baby, I'll take you wherever you want to go if you'll be mine.”

“Man, you're like a cheesy song lyric. Stop. I'll be your girlfriend if stop being such a try hard,” I tugged at his hair gently.

“But, trying hard is kinda my thing though,” he pouted playfully.

“You don't have to try that hard for me. I'm easy, I promise.”

“Just because you're easy doesn't mean you're not worth the extra effort,” he told me so seriously.

“Aw, that's the nicest way anyone has ever called me a slut before,” I placed my hand over my heart and smile wildly while fluttering my eyelashes. I loved watching the momentary panic in his eyes before it fully sank in what I said. 

Edward laughed loudly. “Oh, GOD! That is not what I meant and you know it. Besides, I don't think you're that easy at all. I think you are cheeky. And naughty. And stubborn. And challenging. And amazing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just a friendly reminder that this story is a little different. It’s a Serial. (Think soap opera/telenovela) You should think of each chapter as an episode. It’s going to go on for a while and sometimes it going to take a long time to learn things about them. If you’re enjoying this Bella and Eddie, don’t worry… they’re going on many adventures. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter thirteen- 

 

As Edward checked the weather on his phone the lights came back on. It wouldn't stop raining but it wouldn't be as bad for a couple of hours. The worst was still yet to come, several hours later in the night. We decided it would be for the best if we just went to the Target which was the closest store to his house. It would have everything we would need. It was only a few minutes away.

He held my hand and at every red light he would bring it up to kiss my knuckles. 

Edward bought us some coffee and muffins from the cafe as we shopped. First, we grabbed bottles of water and an absurd amount of candles and flashlights. Next, we went through the food aisles, mainly picking out junk food that didn't need to be cooked or refrigerated. We also bought some fruit, so not to be totally unhealthy.

The beer and wine that Edward bought were counterproductive to that. 

“I need to probably get some more clothes and use your washing machine,” I told him thoughtfully. “Do you have soap?” He looked a little baffled by the question. “Nevermind,” I rolled my eyes and went to the laundry aisle and bought everything I would need for that. He obviously didn't wash his own clothes.

We walked towards the women's clothing. In my head, I tried to do some math. I hadn't spent hardly any of the money for the past week but now that I was spending another week there, what could I spend on clothes? Or, on makeup? I could use a few things. I was going to get paid, but not yet. I hadn't scheduled anything the week after anyway because I thought I would be working on editing and recovering so I had prepared for that money wise.

I wasn't good at doing math, in my head or otherwise. I genuinely hated numbers. Alice did all of my math homework in school and I did all of her English. Which is funny considering she now wrote for fun. Usually porn. 

I pulled out my phone and decided to check my bank account. I could probably manage to spend a hundred, I figured. If I did it right that could get me a few things. I was a pretty good shopper.

“You look concerned. Everything okay?” Edward asked curiously.

“Yeah, just trying to think what I can spend on clothes,” I told him honestly.

“Love, get whatever you want,” he said without hesitation.

“Um, no,” I shook my head at him as I typed in the password. “That's not how that works.”

“I'll buy-” He started but I put my hand up to stop him.

“No. You won't.”

I was finally connected and almost hit the floor. I had not checked the balance in perhaps a week but I hadn't used anything but cash either. I gasped and literally clutched at my chest as my heart tried to beat out of my chest. I felt as if I was going to hyperventilate. 

“What?” Edward seemed even more panicked now.

“This can't be right. I had like five hundred in here,” I shook my head over and over again. I was dizzy.

“How much do you have now?” Edward looked over at the screen. 

“Nearly three thousand!” I almost shouted, waiting impatiently for the transaction screen to load, tapping it over and over again with my thumb. It was taking forever because of the storm. When it finally did I saw 100.00 about a dozen times in a row from the production company name Edward worked under, Midnight Sun Productions. Then I had around a thousand dollars from my weekly payment from my website. It was the most I had ever made at once from the site. I never counted on it for anything. It was just a pleasant bonus if I sold something. After that, it was just 100.00 again. I covered my mouth. Edward looked over my shoulder at the screen.

“Oh, the first video with you uploaded Saturday. One of the food tasting ones,” he explained calmly once he saw the name on the screen. “That's why.”

“That's too much.” 

He laughed softly at my wide-eyed reaction, “I told you I gave you the standard rate I give all the people in my videos. I don't even look at the money part, honestly. Some program gets it and divides it up. It's only like four percent.” My jaw dropped. “And this is for only one video. There is going to be another one today in... a couple of hours?” He looked at his watch. “So, you might want to up it from a hundred to five hundred. Or, maybe a thousand. That seems annoying,” he pointed to my phone and all the ones and zeroes. He acted as he dealt with it every day. Because he did. Obviously.

I actually started crying. Just out and out sobbing in the middle of the empty Target.

“Oh Lord Jesus, first day and I've already made you bawl,” he hugged me tightly to him. I pushed my face in his chest.

“It's so much,” I pressed my face into his chest.

“No, it's not,” he tried to soothe me.

“I'm poor. This changes my life. I can pay next month's bills right now and pay something off six months early. And, I can put money in savings and still buy me my first pair of new shoes in a year. A damn year! And I have like five hundred in my pocket that I can just spend and not worry. Do you know how hard it is to just constantly scrape by?” I was nearly yelling towards the end.

I had stunned him into silence. 

“No, I don't. I am very privileged, I know. I grew up comfortable and I've never had to struggle,” he replied simply.

I looked up at him. I was actually shaking. I looked back at my phone and on the spot transferred a thousand into savings and my part of the next month's bills to my best friend. By the time I was done, my account had increased by another “100.00”.

“You seriously give your friends this much?” I questioned as we began to walk again. 

Edward shrugged, a little confused by my question. “Yeah. I mean, it's no skin off my back. And it makes everyone happy. I've never actually discussed it really in numbers with anyone. Though, I give my family more. Just so you know.”

“No,” I laughed halfheartedly. “Let's not jump that far yet.”

He chuckled, “fair enough.”

When we got to the clothes I went straight to clearance. 

“All that and you still shop in the clearance section?” He teased me. “Honestly, I'm buying it.”

“Just because it's clearance doesn't mean it's not cute. Besides, I'm tiny tiny. All the little stuff stays in clearance forever usually,” I pulled out a small cute tee shirt with rainbows on it for four dollars and put it in the cart. “And, you're not buying shit.”

“Fine…” He drew out before he decided to change the subject. “Can you shop in the girl's section?” He asked sincerely but quietly. Like it was naughty to ask.

“The shirts. Especially plus sized girls. Not in pants though. My ass is too big. I could probably wear plus sized girl leggings,” I thought out loud. I pulled out a cute pair of shorts with lace at the bottom. I would need to try this stuff on. “Juniors is my sweet spot.”

“What's your actual height? I've wanted to ask but not be rude. I'm six foot five, by the way.”

“I know,” I laughed a little hysterically. My emotions were everywhere. “It's hard to miss. I'm five foot even. I use to wear heals always and lie. Say I was five foot four. Which is... just sad. Aiden used to say I made him feel tall. He was only five six,” I said with a slight smile on my face as I looked through the dresses. A flash of guilt and sadness washed over me. “I'm sorry. This is weird. But, he would have liked you though.”

“I think he might have had a problem with how I feel about his wife,” he said with a small sad smirk. 

“Oh, you'd be surprised,” Edward raised an eyebrow in my direction at my words. “He wasn't jealous. He was very generous.”

“Take my wife, please,” he said it in a Groucho Marx voice.

“If he knew I wanted it as well, absolutely. And he would have told me to have a good time and tell him all about it later. We were friends and he just wanted me to be happy. He would have wanted to be your friend, though. He'd like your taste in food and video games. Liked your house and your book collection. He would have watched your videos. He liked Youtube very early on,” I explained to him as I thought about my Aiden. “He'd be annoyed I've waited so long to move on. He used to tell me all the time I was wasting my youth on being an old woman. It'll be his birthday soon. He'd be forty-four.”

“Why did he say that?” He asked curiously. “You don't seem like an old woman to me.”

“I grew up really quick and it made me hard. Perfect for New York,” I joked, “I was really bitter when I met him. I'm still pretty hard now, I think, but... he made me a more gentle person. He made me softer. Aiden made me better.” I wiped a random tear away from my cheek. I didn’t want him to see it.

“He sounds like someone I would have liked,” he said very warmly.

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “I'm so sorry. This must be so awkward. I don't know how to deal with this. I've never done it before. I'm going to scare you away with this.”

“It doesn't bother me. It's not awkward. You loved someone. That's good. I'm glad you were happy, even if it didn't last as long as you deserved. I'm grateful to him and I wish I could take away your pain. I don't want to replace him, I couldn't imagine trying. But, I do hope that one day you feel even a small amount what you did for him for me,” he said softly to me, standing in the middle of the clearance section of Target. My eyes began to tear up heavily again. “Dammit,” he half laughed and rubbed my cheek with his thumb. “You're going to make me emotional.”

“I'm not usually a crier,” I admitted. I hated crying in front of anyone. It made me feel weak.

“I am,” he warned, making me giggle. I pressed my face to his chest again. I took several deep breaths to calm myself down.

“I do already, by the way,” I admitted to him. “Feel at least a percentage of what I felt. It's the first day, let us not rush things. But, I do like you a lot.”

“Right. No rushing,” he agreed before kissing me. Lightning crashed outside, shaking the building. “We should probably keep an eye on the time and weather though.” 

I picked out several outfits to quickly try on. What I liked and fit I threw into the cart and hurried into the bras and panties. I needed those most of all. 

I got a couple of cute sets in lace and one in satin. I also got a few cute pairs of panties with different cartoons or designs on them. As I walked towards the pajamas Edward was being very quiet. When I looked at his face his cheeks were fiery red. 

“Want to make any suggestions?” I asked him with an innocent smile. “Comments? Anything?”

Oh.. oh.. um,” he stammered. “I mean, you should wear what you want and like. It's not for me.”

“Of course, but if you see something you like I don't mind. No one will see them but you.”

“That one please,” he quickly pointed the rack beside us with a very lacy neon pink demi-cup bra with a matching pair of boy shorts. The second one on the rack was my size. I put it in the cart and turned back to the night clothes. “Yay,” he said quietly behind me with a little silly clap, purposely to make me laugh. “Best day ever.” 

I smiled to myself as I picked out a couple of cute nightgowns. Next, we went to the shoes. I quickly found a cute pair of three-inch black heels just in my size. I kicked off my shoes and tried them on. It had been years since I had worn any. They fit just right. They also had them in red and they were only eight dollars a pair, seventy-five percent off. I put them both in the cart. I also got a new pair of converse that I think were probably for kids but I didn't care. I was a sucker for funky designs and they had stars all over them. They kind of matched my foot tattoos.

“I need to get some cosmetic stuff and we should get some supplies from the pharmacy,” I said the last part very quietly.

“Right. Good idea. Those condoms are probably about to expire anyway. I got them right before I broke up with my ex last year. They're Australian condoms. ”

I looked him dead in the eye. “Do you put them on counter-clockwise?”

“Har har,” he laughed and poked at my side. “You're a riot, you are. Right full of piss.”

We went through the pharmacy first and got a big mix packed of condoms. It was a rather ambitious box for a week-long visit. We also got three different kinds of lube because we couldn't decide and he just tossed them all into the cart. He snorted at my idea for a ‘Eddie tries lube’ video. 

“Well, this one is... slippery...” I mimicked his accent as I picked through the baskets of clearance makeup that took up one end cap. It was actually a pretty decent selection. 

“This one is... smells like a cherry lollie for some reason,” he joked. 

“Oh, my god! This one burns! Why does it burn?!” I said dramatically, still with the accent.

He laughed very loudly. An older woman walked by from another aisle and gave us a dirty look. I smiled at her widely as I literally tossed a mascara over my shoulder into the cart. Edward turned away to hide his giggles. I could be a ham when I wanted to be as well.

I ended up getting mascara, eyeliner, a blush palette, a highlighter stick, and a few pairs of eyelashes for next to nothing. I was very pleased. I grabbed a couple of cheap matte lipsticks and an eyeshadow pallet that had a couple of dozen shades in it as well. I wasn't sure how good any of it was but it would be fun to experiment again. 

When we got to the checkout I went ahead and put all the clothing, makeup, and shoes I had picked for myself and put them on the belt. I put the divider at the end and gave him a look daring him to argue with me. 

“You're silly,” he kissed my cheek and put his liquor on the belt behind the partition. 

“No, I'm not. It's important to me,” I pulled my debit card from my wallet. “Free food is one thing. You have to eat, too.”

“I understand that. But, I want to,” he pulled a couple of candy bars from the shelf behind us and tossed them onto the belt. “You're staying for me.”

“And, that's sweet. It really is. You've already bought me a ton of stuff this week though and you're buying all of that. I want to buy these things for me. I haven't in years. Buy the food. I got this.”

“Alright. But, let me know if you need anything,” he kissed my temple and rubbed my shoulder.

When I was all rung up, it was just under three hundred for all my things. I was pleased with my haul. 

A restaurant in the same shopping center was still open and we ordered a ton of Japanese food to-go. We sat by the window drinking hot green tea from a silver pot, watching the rain while we waited. It was so relaxing. 

The weather got worse just as we pulled into his garage. I hurried the cold food in the fridge and put our hot food in the turned off oven so it would stay hotter longer then helped him bring in our enormous amount of bags. I threw mine on the bed in the spare room and when I did I grabbed my camera for later. I sat it on the coffee table. 

We put away the groceries together and laid out all the candles, lanterns, flashlights, batteries and lighters. I put the big batteries in the lanterns first. “You should put one in your room and one in the bathroom now,” I told him as I put one on the coffee table. I put a large candle the dining table with a lighter, another on the stove. I lined smaller candles along the ledge below his television, and one on each end table. I scattered lighters about. There were still three dozen candles, two bags of tea lights, and several lighters on his breakfast bar. If the lights were going to go out again, we were ready for it.

“So, I canceled shooting for tomorrow and arranged it for later this weekend. All I have to do tomorrow is a little editing now.” He explained as he looked down at his phone at a text. It vibrated in his hand and he typed quickly before storing it back in his pocket. “The power is out over at Seth's. Tyler's just came back on.”

The power went out again as the wind slapped rain against the window. I jumped and clutched the bar.

“If there is electricity you'll do a little editing,” I said. I could see just well enough from the light from the windows to light the candles on his mantle without burning myself. It was just then dusk, gray and lonesome. He turned on one of the lanterns and helped me light the rest of the room. Soon it was lit with a romantic glow. 

“What shall we do?” He asked, placing his hands on my hips from behind as he observed our handiwork. 

“Have a glass of wine and a joint then eat our sushi by candlelight while listening to music on my phone and watching the rain?” I offered smoothly. It's not like it was the most relaxing thing I could have possibly imagined or dreamed of. I seemed like the kind of day to fulfill fantasies.

“Oh, sounds perfect,” he agreed, turning to go get his stash of rolled joints from his room and an ashtray. After turning on the playlist I downloaded to my phone I got us two lighters and picked a bottle of wine for us to share from the ones he had just bought. It was still cold. He popped the cork and got the glasses. 

I picked up my camera and took several pictures. Of the table, the candles, the rain on the glass doors. Edward poured me a glass of wine. I took his picture as he brought my drink. He was wrapped in the most beautiful halo of light.

“You look like the cover of a Harlequin novel,” I teased him. He looked at the picture and made a little face.

“My shirt would be off for that.”

“Later,” I said in a silly voice while I stroked his abs. He giggled like a ticklish two-year-old and jumped back a little in surprise at the unexpected touch. He almost sloshed the wine out of the glasses. It was stupidly cute. 

We laid out on his big brown comfortable couch. It could be a bed for two easily. We propped in one corner with pillows and a corner table for our ashtray and drinks. We took turns smoking while I looked at the pictures on my camera. Edward had his arm around me and looked on silently. It was something we had never done before but felt totally natural. I fit perfectly against his side.

“You're so talented,” he said after probably the five hundredth picture. These were just back at the beach the night before. I had so many on my SD card. These were the originals but I had uploaded digital backups in a couple of places, just in case. I was too paranoid about losing the pictures or camera not to. I realized that I hadn’t had a nightmare at all that week. 

“Thank you,” I kissed him lightly on the cheek. 

He looked incredibly sexy when he smoked. The smoke billowed and curled from his lips as he blew out. The smoke lingered in the air, illuminated by candlelight. If I thought I could catch it in a picture, I would have tried. 

We were quiet for a long time, lost in our own thoughts. It had been quite the day.

“What would we have done if I had to fly out today? I'd be back home by now,” I looked at my phone to check the time after I put down my camera on the side table. I sipped my wine slowly as I tried to imagine a different universe where I had gone home. It was probably the real one. I probably went into a coma somehow in the middle of the night and this is the scene my brain was playing out for me.

I probably didn't want to drink too fast because I hadn't eaten much that day. 

Edward sipped his own drink, the joint between his fingers with the same hand that held the glass. “I was going to beg you to stay or fly to New York to follow you if you left before I could. Call and beg on your way to the airport to come back. I don't know. Something like that.”

“No,” I laughed at the dramatics of it all. 

He smirked a little bit. “Mm, yes. Maybe I'd just show up at your door with flowers and beg you to give me a chance. I expected more begging altogether, frankly. I thought after Saturday it would be harder, to be honest.”

“What about Saturday?” I asked. “Why?”

“I thought you weren't interested in me, to be honest”

I swallowed and shook my head. “I thought you were flirting with me like you had with that girl at the party.”

“I shouldn't have done that. It's... It's an act I have to put on when I'm in public. I admit I probably let it go too far that night,” he said, almost embarrassed. “But, I don't feel the need to act for you.”

I touched his cheek lightly. He was being so sweet to me. “So, did tonight work out better than you hoped?”

He leaned his face into my hand. “I didn't even want to think about tonight, honestly. If you weren't interested- I just... I just knew I had to tell you how I felt and deal with it but there was no way I couldn't.”

I clicked my tongue. “Couldn't you tell how much I am into you? I feel so obvious. I even kissed you!” I laughed. 

“But, I asked for it!” He pointed out. “I wasn't sure. I thought... maybe... but I wasn't sure if I was just projecting my feelings onto you. But I knew the second I watched you get out the car and saw your face for the first time, though…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “You are the most amazing woman.”

I took the joint from him, kissing his mouth lightly for a moment. I took a long drag as I snuggled into his side. He wrapped his arm so they rested on my stomach.

“That's so sweet. I wish I could say something equally so about the first time I saw you,” I told him truthfully. It was completely dark outside. It was getting windier. It was almost the perfect way to spend a rainy October night.

“That's okay,” he chuckled as he took a long drag.

“The first time I saw your face and knew exactly who you were, to be perfectly honest, my roommate and I had watched eight solid hours of your videos and well... I definitely masturbated thinking about you. Does that count?” I said in a monotone voice.

He coughed hard and shot smoke out of his nose. He sputtered as I laughed to myself. “Dammit! And you say it so dryly, too! Christ. You did that on purpose.”

“Yeah, but it's still true,” I told him, still amused with myself.

“Well, I did too but I wasn't going to tell you that,” he snickered as he tried to recover. He took a couple of big drinks of his white wine, embarrassed. 

“Well, I already assumed you did,” I teased him. “I would assume that even if you weren't interested in me romantically actually. You were definitely staring at my breasts at the tattoo shop.”

“That was so hot,” Edward muttered, he said as he flicked ashes into the glass tray. “I felt like a whiny cunt and then you lay there like a goddamn gangster. When you took your shirt off. Bless. Seth almost dropped his camera. It's my favorite part. I had so much fun. Thank God Tyler caught his reaction.”

I laughed, “well, that was hot for both of us. You weren't too bad. It does hurt.” I kissed where his tattoo was still healing up on his chest through his shirt. “It was your first. You get used to it.”

Edward was quiet for a beat while he considered something. “Did you really... um, play with yourself?” He asked shyly. “I mean, thinking about me? After watching my videos?”

“You're so cute,” I touched his red cheeks. “I did... And I did after the tattoo shop in bed that night. And... in the morning in the shower afterward. And a few times in between. I literally took pictures of your ass just for me.”

Edward was biting deeply into his lip while I spoke before quickly finishing his wine. “You're so forward,” he said after he swallowed. 

“Is that bad?”

“No,” he licked his bottom lip to get a drop of wine he missed. “You're normally blunt so I shouldn't be surprised. I've never met a woman like you. Your body is too small for your personality, you know that?”

“Sounds like something you'd say about a Yorkie.” It wasn't the first time I had heard say something like that.

He giggled. I realized we were both very high. It kind of hit all of a sudden. 

The lights flickered back on. Went back out. Then, came on once again. We waited for a pause, still as if not to frighten the electricity away. 

“Let's get dinner while they're still on,” he said. I agreed and followed him to the kitchen. They stayed long enough to get the food moved to the table and get our miso soup warmed up. Edward helped move more candles onto the table.

I took too many pictures of our candlelit meal before we sat down to eat. He took a couple as well, and some of me taking pictures, with his phone. 

Edward brought his phone up with a flashlight as light. He began to record a video. “So, it is... well, it's raining cats and dogs outside and we, the gorgeous Isabella and I are without any lights,” he said in his announcer video voice. “But, fear not. We are prepared. We have candles coming out of our arses. We have torches. And we have a metric fuckton of Japanese food we bought on our way home from picking up storm supplies. Look at all that,” he said as he panned the phone of the candlelit food. “So, darling, do you want to tell us what we have today?”

“Well, first we have sushi. We have salmon and white tuna nigiri and we have salmon and tuna maki. And a shrimp tempura roll, which I'm super excited about. We also have chicken, shrimp, and steak mixed plate of teriyaki with extra vegetables because they're my favorite. Steamed and fried rice. Miso soup. Seaweed salads. And steamed dumplings because we're apparently pigs?” I pointed to everything and spoke as clearly and cheerfully as I could. Edward laughed from behind the phone. 

“We could have gotten more,” he told me.

“Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Besides, didn't you buy a bunch of desserts?” I asked him curiously.

“Yeah,” he said happily. He poured us each a fresh glass of wine. Edward picked up his glass and I took mine. “A toast to stormy weather. Prost.”

“Salud,” I clinked my glass against his. Edward had the best smile. He put the camera down. 

“You're a natural.”

“Well, I did take like two years of drama in high school or whatever,” I did a silly hair flip. He chuckled. 

“And it shows! It's probably just going to be for me though. My diary. I want to remember every detail of this night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder this is non-canon af. I changed their heights.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter fourteen-

 

The lights didn't come back on that night. We cleaned up in the darkness and then started to bring candles into his bedroom. We blew out the ones we didn't need in the living room and kitchen, making the space slightly smokey. I took a lantern to the spare bedroom and got changed for bed. 

For the first time in a very long time, I thought about how I would look to a man in the nude. How would he like my panties? My nightgown? I'm not sure what Edward thought about those things. Did he care at all? He was always so well dressed when he was out. Not so much at home. He had an opinion on what he thought was sexy at Target but I wasn't ready to give that pair the full justice they deserved. I also didn't know what he was expecting from me. Or what I was expecting from him that night.

I changed into a new pair of panties from the store. They were a comfortable pair of boy shorts. They were cotton and Halloween themed, not unlike the ones I had been wearing earlier in the day. These were orange and had a jack-o-lantern on the rear because I was an adult and the little things like that gave me joy. The nightgown I had gotten was dark blue satin and went just to my fingertips. It was cut very low in a v with the edges embroidered in tiny white flowers. 

I washed my face and brushed my teeth. Then I rubbed on lotion to my arms and legs and put on perfume behind my ears and knees. Places that had not seen attention in years. I fluffed up my hair and put on my bubblegum flavored chapstick. It felt oddly familiar, the act but not the place. 

Edward was waiting for me in his bedroom by his bed as he rearranged it. He had changed into sleep pants and had removed his shirt. I could tell he was a little anxious. When he saw me he relaxed a little, a small smile on his sweet face. 

“I never imagine today would end like this. Not in a million years. Not if I thought I had a million tries. And yet, here you are.”

“I didn't know it was a possibility,” I told him honestly.

“I'm so nervous,” he looked embarrassed to admit it. “Earlier was incredible and I don't want to... assume. I don't want to scare you. Or rush you. We can do whatever you want. If you just want to cuddle. Or, talk. Or, sleep. Or, whatever.”

“It was incredible. Don't worry about scaring me. I promise to let you know. I’m pretty vocal,” I assured him as I touched his cheek. “And, is it rushing? Wasn't that just the longest blind date ever?” I asked him jokingly. He smirked and pretended to think really hard about it. 

“Was that our first date? That whole week? No, I'd say it was more like seven separate dates. I mean, we slept in between. We weren't together the whole time,” he pointed out. He was enjoying this particular conversation.

“Eight, if you count Sunday night. If you're going by that logic.”

“Oh, you're right. Eight. Or, is it nine now? If you count today? I wonder what the average amount of dates before a couple has sex is,” Edward said to himself. He was actually thinking about the answer to that one. 

I came to stand on my tip toes and smoothed my fingers over his very strong arms. “We can look it up in the morning.” I kissed the spot where his tattoo was on his pec. It had begun to heal very nicely. I could barely reach it. He rubbed his hands over my shoulders until he brought them down to my fingers. We stood, holding hands, in the candlelit darkness of his bedroom while the storm raged outside. 

He brought his mouth down to mine and kissed me deeply, holding my face in his big warm hands. They were so soft and he was so tender with his every single touch. His palms were cradling my cheeks and I held onto his wrists as I melted into him. I could have kissed him there forever.

Gently he lifted me onto the bed by the hips and he quickly crawled on top of me so that he hovered a foot above me. I took this chance to touch his cheeks, temples, and forehead without having to stretch. I let my fingers move through his thick dark auburn hair. He clearly enjoyed it. His eyes were so hopeful and eager. And, happy. Edward was genuinely elated. It made me feel adored. 

“I like the way you look at me,” I admitted to him, drawing his face closer to mine to kiss his mouth softly. I kissed the top and then the bottom, bringing them into my mouth to lightly suck on his soft perfect lips. I tugged on the bottom one gently with my teeth when I pulled away. He shuddered and gasped as I happily played. 

“Well, that's the look of a man utterly enchanted,” he tried to say with a bit of charm but it came out breathy and labored.

“Try hard,” I whispered into his ear with a smile while gently tugging down his sleep pants. He was wearing boxer briefs this time. I was a little disappointed that he wasn't commando. 

“Get used to it,” he kissed my mouth aggressively, moving down to my neck to nip at my skin. One of his hands explored my outer thigh while I wrapped my legs around him. “I going to worship you.” He kissed my new tattoo lightly, pushing the strap of the gown away. He kissed around the butterfly before moving to kiss right where my heart was beating hard in my chest. 

Edward pulled off my nightgown and tossed it to the end of the bed. I pulled him down to me so that our bare bodies were touching, kissing him once again. We were both only in just our underwear by that point. He was completely hard and kept brushing it between my very sensitive thighs. We kissed for so long I was breathless and my face was tender from his stubble aggressively rubbing against it as we made out like teenagers. He drew out every kiss and touch, trying to give me as much pleasure as possible.

He held my throat in his hand as he kissed my forehead, nose, lips, eyelids, my ears. It was tender, his thumb rubbing loving little circles into my neck in pace with his kissing. When he finally kissed downwards my chest automatically rose up to meet his lips. 

“I left a mark.” He kissed the side of my breast, glancing up at me as he did.

“Leave some more.” I dragged my nails over his scalp and gingerly tugged at his hair.

“Where?” Edward asked hungrily. 

I guided him to a spot on the opposite breast with my hand still in his hair. He bit hard enough to make me squeak in surprise and throw my head back. His hand was still on my throat, squeezing very lightly. I brought his hand to my mouth and began to suck and kiss his fingers while he created a matching bruise on my tender skin. 

He kissed down my stomach, pulling down my panties and throwing them somewhere on the floor. Without hesitation he began to kiss between my legs, spreading them wide to give him better access. First, he kissed, licked, and nipped at each thigh several times, dragging his now rather rough cheek against my flesh as he did. His hand slid down my calf then back up my knee, making me shiver in the best way possible. 

Edward knew all the places to touch and all the places to kiss. 

I cried out when he licked me, his tongue dragging across my clit slowly. My back arched as my legs twisted around his shoulders. He held my thighs apart with one hand, the other hand resting on my stomach. I cursed loudly when he pushed two of his fingers inside of me. 

My first orgasm was slow and long. It dipped up and down and slowly back up again into another and then another, each becoming more desperate and louder than the last. I clawed at his back, calling out his name over and over again like a chant. I was tearing at the bed, bucking and twisting. He never even slowed down a little. He didn’t need the encouragement to not stop.

I had to yank Edward by the hair to finally stop him after having at least four, maybe five, orgasms. I lost count somewhere along the way. He kissed me eagerly, his face covered in my own cum. As he did he crashed into me, his boxer brief covered erection pressed into my wetness. I gasped and bucked, squeezing my legs closed around him. 

“I'll not last very long,” he warned when I tugged down his boxers frantically. “I feel like if you touched me right, I'd explode.”

“Isn't that the point?” I asked with a wicked smile as I kissed his ear, rubbing his erection gently as I did. I massaged him against my wet clit, gasping at the sensation against his skin. He hadn’t expected it, closing his eyes and shaking a little with each slow pass. “You should get a condom,” I finally whispered. He was so close already.

Edward came to rest on his calves while still sitting between my legs, pulling one of the condoms from the open box in the drawer. With a smirk, he placed it on my stomach all while rubbing his own cock. I spread my legs, dipping my fingers inside to tease us both. Edward pushed my hand out of the way so he could massage his head against my clit perfectly, making me twist and moan in pleasure. He drew out each stroke, letting it dip lower so that he only just went inside before pushing back up against my sensitive nerves. Finally, it was too much teasing for me so I took the condom myself and opened it carefully. 

“Fuck me,” I said in a soft, sweet voice that didn't match the words that were coming out of my mouth. “Please,” I rolled the condom over his head and Edward pushed it the rest of the way down eagerly. He hovered over me, his large green eyes looking into mine briefly before kissing me deeply.

He slipped inside me with no resistance but I had never felt so full. I spread my legs as wide as possible to allow him to go as deep as he could, lifting my hips up as I did. I wrapped one of my arms around his neck while the other hand grabbed at the sheets. 

I gushed around him a little, dripping down to the blanket underneath. My entire body flushed with sweat as he pounded his pelvis into mine. “Oh...” I drew out as my back arched a half foot off the bed. Edward didn't slow his perfect rhythm. I could feel the pulsating thrumming of my extended orgasm deep in my stomach to my curling toes, dripping more and more with each push. 

“Fuck,” he said in a deep, low, guttural voice very close to my ear. His entire body was shaking when he finally gave in to his own climax.

He panted and rested his forehead on my chest as I held him to me. His face was squarely between my breast with his cheek pressed to my skin. We were both actually shaking from the effort. It took us a long time to recover. He dragged his nose over my collarbone after a few moments, lightly and delicately kissing my shoulder when he could move. 

“God. Damn,” he finally muttered. 

I laughed a bit hysterically, bringing my hand up to my eyes to wipe away the sweat. “Yeah.”

“I really like making you cum like that,” he said shyly into my chest. “Can I do that... like... all the time?” 

“My legs are vibrating,” I told him with a breathy laugh. “So, yes. Please. Literally fucking vibrating. What the fuck?”

He laughed happily as well, almost timidly pressing his face into my skin to hide his smile. His cheeks were still red hot. 

When I woke up in the morning the electricity was still off and the storm was still going on pretty hard outside. I watched it through the vast open window out onto the beautiful mountainous view. After slipping out of Edward's arms I went back down to the spare bedroom and rushed through a quick cold shower by lantern light. It was just after nine.

I put on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt to wear from my Target bags. When I came into the kitchen Edward was waiting for me, having done much the same in the terms of a cold shower. He had not shaved though and his rusty colored hair began to show around his chin, cheeks, and lips. 

“Good morning,” I kissed him lightly on the lips. I traced the stiff scruff with my fingers. It was so thick and stiff along the bottom of his jaw. It was practically sharp.

“Good morning,” he hummed at the sensation. “I checked on the electricity and it's going to be out until at least later this afternoon at the earliest. When it comes back, I'd really like to take a hot shower with you because that was bloody terrible.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I smiled at him brightly. “What do you need to do today?”

“Besides you?” He smirked playfully. “Well, I can't edit or anything. I could do a bit of writing that I was going to have to work on later this week but I'm going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. This is turning my schedule all around, the rain. It rains so little LA can barely handle it. Anyway, what about you? What do you need to get done?”

“My computer holds a charge for just a little while so I could probably get three or four hours of editing done before it dies. I'm glad I got a bit of a break yesterday. Sometimes the colors begin to blend together and everything looks the same. So, while you write I can edit? Then we can take a break for lunch,” I offered, tracing his bottom lip with my finger. He smiled and nodded sweetly.

After a quick breakfast of fruit and Poptarts, we sat in comfortable silence in his office while each of us worked. He sat at his desk, furiously writing away on a notepad and I sat on his couch that was in there with my laptop on my thighs 

Somewhere around two in the afternoon my computer gave its last gasps of power and I shut it down before it could die tragically in the middle of an edit. The storm had slowed and it was just raining, slacken but still steadily falling. At least the winds had seemed to have passed. 

We had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chips for our little picnic lunch. I actually liked it a lot, eating a banana and watching it rain on his pool from the dinner table. The only thing I missed was a glass of milk. We would have to replace a couple of things in his fridge. 

Finally, at six in the evening, the lights returned. 

“Praise the Gods,” Edward muttered from his comfortable spot on the couch where we had been laying in our corner. Each of us had been reading something, him a script and me a book, but it had been much harder as it got later in the evening. “Shall we freshen up and go get a late dinner?” He offered.

“Sure, let me go get my things.”

After putting my computer onto charge along with my phone, I went to the spare bathroom and picked up my shower gel, face wash, shampoo, and conditioner and put them in their little travel bag. I wasn't sure what else to bring with me. So, I just ended up grabbing all my toiletries and my makeup. There was a built-in vanity with seating to one side of his bathroom that he clearly never used so I set my stuff up on the marble countertops. The vanity lights were very bright. Someone had probably loved doing their makeup there in the past.

Now, the bathroom in the spare bedroom was an impressive affair that I had fallen in love with deeply... But his shower was next level. It could fit five adults comfortably with five shower heads. Two on each wall and one somehow from above on the ceiling. There was also a removable sprayer you could turn on. And, built-in seating along the back wall. It was ridiculous. 

Steam filled the room when he turned on the water. We helped the other undress cheerfully, playfully. We kissed under the water for a long while. I washed Edward's hair for him, scrubbing my nails over his scalp as he sat down so I could easily reach the top of his head. He held my waist, happy to be pampered. We washed each other, me rubbing him all over with my vanilla body wash soaked loofa. 

“I smell like a biscuit,” he commented in amusement.

“A sexy biscuit,” I replied. 

He just rolled his eyes, but Edward was smiling.

When we got out of the shower I put my hair up in a towel and put on my lotion and deodorant. I sat at the vanity as he did his grooming, applying makeup quickly. I was almost done when he came by in his underwear. His hair was all slicked back nicely and he smelled so warm and fresh. 

“You make that look so easy,” he said as I painted on my eyeliner with a tiny little brush. 

“It's not,” I said in a whisper of concentration, holding my eyes perfectly still.

“Using a stick with three hairs to draw a thin perfectly straight line less than a millimeter from your eyeball is seems dangerous.”

“Well... it's not for beginners,” I replied thoughtfully when I finished. “Pencils are easier but I like how the liquid looks.”

Edward watched in fascination and mild horror as I put on my fake eyelashes. Apparently, he didn't like anything to do with eyes or touching eyes. He scurried away when I rolled my eyes back to apply a pencil to the bottom eyelid at the waterline.

I put on a new red dress, throwing all my dirty clothes in his brand new washing machine for later. He was wearing a nice pair of black denim jeans and a blue button-down shirt. I put on my red stilettos, wearing heels for the first time in years. They were three inches, making my toes nearly point to the floor. 

I practiced a few laps alone in the bedroom to make sure I still had to the ability to walk in heels. I did, thankfully. They were uncomfortable but I could do some things to improve that later. We would have to visit a store again soon enough. I would probably need more shampoo if anything else. I had too much hair for the little bottle I packed. I hadn’t packed very well.

We went to some little hipster spot and it was surprisingly busy. Everyone needed to get out of the house after the heavy storms. It was just after eight and the rain had finally stopped completely. We ate a whole host of interesting flavored tacos. They were pretty good, beef and pork with lots of sliced pineapple. Afterward, we shared a basket of sopapillas and honey and some Mexican hot chocolate. We sat on the same bench at the table, his body pressed to my side as we ate and talked.

We actually sat and talked until it was almost time for them to close, the last two left in the small restaurant. We drove around a little while in his car with the windows rolled down, just to be out of the house for a little while and enjoy the cool air. When we got back to his place we made love again, this time soft and slow. He was so desperately gentle with me, making me feel euphoric as I finally drifted off to sleep. It was a perfect end to an extremely relaxing day.


	15. Chapter 15

Trigger warnings for mentions of death and murder-

 

Chapter fifteen- 

 

The next day Edward had some filming planned out and about with Tyler and Seth. They were going to do a couple of food videos at restaurants and then later in the day he had a video shoot at the old LA zoo. It was abandoned and it was supposed to be haunted. He was doing it for Halloween. I was extremely excited about it. It was at Griffin Park, not far from the new zoo where we had spent our lovely Sunday together just a few days before. 

“You should see if you can do a video on the Museum of Death,” I commented as I made coffee for us while we were waiting for Seth and Tyler to arrive. “Get a little tour.”

“That is a good idea,” he agreed, pulling out his phone to type something into it. “I wish we could do it before Halloween.”

“That kind of stuff is popular all the time. You can always do it for next Halloween, too.”

“That’s true.”

The boys knocked once before letting themselves inside. 

“Well, look who's still here!” Tyler said brightly as he plopped his stuff down onto the big brown couch. He smiled so wide his eyes all but disappeared. It was hard not to return it.

“Yeah, they canceled my flight because of the weather. But, it works out. I'm going to take a little vacation,” I explained to him. 

“Nice,” Seth high fived me as he came into the kitchen. I gave him some coffee which he eagerly took. “So, is Eddie letting you crash here since you're practically one of us now?”

“One of us. One of us,” Tyler chanted dryly. Edward rolled his eyes at them. 

“Yes, of course, she's staying here. She is welcome to stay as long as she pleases,” Edward told them, tossing Tyler his keys so he could drive to the first shoot.

“So, is he putting you to work?” Seth asked. “Are you joining our little crew?”

“How is this work? It's so much fun,” I told him then pointed over to my camera stuff on the table. “I'm going to take pictures. But for me.”

“And, of course, you can be in the videos, if you want,” Edward said sleepily as he stretched. “I hope you'll be. If you want to be... It'll be more fun if you are. The ones I've posted with you in it have done very well so far, too.”

Seth and Tyler exchanged looks that Edward missed behind his back but I did not. I smiled at them both but said nothing. I just sipped my coffee. 

Our first spot was a pastry place that had recently gotten rather internet famous for their unique cakes. We talked to the owner and the head chefs. I got to ask a lot of questions about baking cakes I hadn't made or even tasted before. We helped make a fruit and nut cake and then iced chocolate cupcakes. 

Edward essentially made a mess with a piping bag filled with chocolate frosting while I made delicate simple little roses with mine. The pastry chef, a little old Japanese woman, complimented my basic decorating skills while trying adorably to be encouraging to him, but correct firmly at the same time. I would bet she was a fun grandma. She kept saying ‘no, no, no,” quietly to him. She even smacked Edward’s hand once. It was perfect for his video. His bemused shock was hilarious.

We got to try five different cakes. Chocolate ganache, black forest, citrus upside down cake, carrot cake, and a fruit and nut like we had made before. They were all good but the citrus was my favorite. Pineapple upside down cake was my favorite kind of cake I didn't have often enough. Alice didn't like it so I usually ended up eating it all myself. Her favorite was chocolate so that’s usually what I made us. 

The next video was at a chicken wing place known for their seriously spicy wings. They had ‘spice flights’ with a range not for the faint of heart. Or, so the sign said. You could smell the spice as soon as you came into the restaurant. It was sinus clearing. It almost reminded me of the smell of a crawfish restaurant down south.

The chef looked happy and ready to burn out the taste buds of anyone willing to risk it. I wasn't too worried though, even if we had to sign some sort of waver. Alice and I shared a shelf of hot sauce at home. I hadn’t really noticed if Edward liked spicy things though.

I sat to the right of Edward with Seth on the other side of him for the challenge. It was ten wings, each getting spicier as they went. We each had a glass of milk and there was a pitcher of milk on the table, just in case we needed it. 

“I think I already regret this,” Edward mumbled when we sat at the table. “Why am I this kind of stupid?” 

I snorted to myself.

“So, I'm lactose intolerant,” Seth said as he looked at the full glass. 

“You ate all that cake earlier,” I looked over at him, horrified. “With buttercream and cream cheese. Why?”

“I'm also stupid and like to suffer,” he laughed as they laid the flights down in front of us. 

“So, before we get started... Do you like spicy foods?” The chef asked to get our attention. He was a large round white man with a slicked back ponytail at the bottom of his balding head.

“I do,” Seth said quickly. 

Edward looked less enthusiastic about his answer. “I like spicy food, but I do have a limit and I do suffer very easily.”

“I like heat,” I admitted. “It has to be more about the flavor. It can't just burn though. I think I have a pretty high tolerance though.”

“So, here is the challenge. You have twenty minutes to eat all ten wings without any ranch or blue cheese. If you do, you get your picture on the wall and a tee shirt. Also, you can't throw up before we take your picture.”

Oh, that wasn’t a good sign of things to come.

“Antacids for everyone,” Edward looked pained already as he smelled the heat wafting up. It smelled red hot spicy.

When they started the clock I decided it was going to be easier to eat the spiciest of them first. It was a surprisingly thick and dark sauce that was very sticky. I tried it first on my fingers and it had a nice sweetness to it and it tickled the back of my throat. The heat came in slowly, hitting the roof of my mouth pleasantly.

I ate it without a problem and licked the sauce off my fingers before it could start to burn them. My eyes watered a bit but otherwise, I was fine. The top of my head buzzed some and my lips tingle but I had eaten hotter before.

“Oh, goddammit!” Edward said when he realized what I was doing. “That’s not fair.”

“What?” Seth looked over and actually gasped. “But, why?” 

“I liked it. It made my lips feel weird,” I told them as I picked up the second spiciest. This sauce was thinner, green, with large bits of garlic. Since the last wasn't a problem I decided to take a big bite. I didn't like the flavor as much but I liked thicker sauces. After I finished I took a little sip of milk to get the heavy garlic taste out of my mouth. This one made the roof of my mouth prickly with sensation.

Apparently, me going straight for it made the boys try to rush through their own wings. They were on their fourth or fifth and had already gone through half their drinks. Edward was panting already, his chest heaving. Seth had gotten milk all over his chin and shirt. 

I just shook my head. They were heathens.

Wings eight, seven, and six were probably my favorite. They were hot Nashville chicken themed. Five and four were bright red like a traditional Buffalo wing but the flavors were surprisingly different. Honestly, the first couple wasn’t at all that spicy to me. I could at least see why others found the others too hot. You usually have to build up a pretty good tolerance to eat stuff that spicy and not be bothered by it. 

I finished in less than fifteen minutes, just eating as I normally would. Seth gave up at wing seven, claiming it was too hot for him. Almost angrily, too. He actually threw the wing down onto his plate with a splat. I reached over and took his leftovers while Edward was literally crying over six. Crying. Tears were just overflowing from his eyes and running in rivers down his cheeks. 

“That's not okay!” Edward told me as I munched on the rest of Seth's food, drinking his milk in big gulps. I ignored him and smiled directly at the camera.

“Gringo,” I shook my head. “Do you use any of these sauces to make sandwiches?” I asked the chef as he watched on, still ignoring Edward's suffering. He was so dramatic. 

Though his face was red and he was visibly sweating. I'm not sure how much he could encourage that.

“Any sauce you like can be used on our chicken sandwiches,” the chef told me. 

I pointed to eight, “this one would be dope with some good sweet pickles. Maybe a side of mac and cheese. Hawaiian roll or a nice kaiser. Maybe some slaw.”

“We can do that for you,” the cook replied. “We marinate our meat in homemade bread and butter pickle juice actually that we make in-house.”

“I'd like to try some of those.”

“Let me get you some.”

“Thanks,” I grinned. 

When I looked over at Edward I realized he was very quiet. He had finally moved onto nine but his eyes were wide and it was obvious that he was starting to hear colors. His milk was close to empty so I refilled his glass for him. Seth was now cramming chips in his mouth from a basket on the table in the hope of cooling the fire. Not that he would say that was what he was doing because he kept announcing that he was fine. Just fine. Just fucking fine, thank you very much. 

Tyler was clearly enjoying watching them make fools of themselves while I carried on a normal conversation with the chef. 

“And you make all the sauces in-house as well? You sell them by the bottle, right?” I asked when he came back with the pickles. I liked them, they were very crisp and refreshing after the spicy chicken. I could feel the little spicy high tingling pleasantly at the back of my brain. 

“Yup, you can buy them in the store or you can order a bottle online and have it ship to you anywhere in the world.”

“I’m guessing the link is down in the description below,” I said for the camera. Tyler nodded behind the film equipment. But then I realized he was watching Edward. I glanced over at him. 

Edward took one small bite of the tenth wing. He put it down and said, “no. No... no. No. Nono.” And then drank an entire glass of milk while standing up then sitting back down with a heavy thump that sounded as if it almost broke the chair. He put his face in his hands. He was still crying. 

Such a drama queen.

“So, the spiciest is it like... ghost pepper? Or, is a reaper?” I tasted the sauce with my finger from my plate. “It feels like both so I don't know.”

The chef was pleased I knew from the taste. It was a mix.

Edward got up and had a little walk around the restaurant. He wasn't coming back for more to eat.

“Ten out of ten would eat again with some ranch maybe next time,” I told the chef as I reached over and picked up the rest of Edward's wing. I wasn't going to let it go to waste. I took the part he had taken a bite and rubbed it into the sauce. Edward literally began to hug his legs while standing, bending over as he muttered something to himself. Tears streamed down onto his shirt. I shook my head. “It's really delicious,” I assured the chef.

“How?” Edward demanded angrily. I handed him a napkin and pointed to his nose which was running. Poor thing. 

“Some people just... can?” I shrugged. I had always eaten spicy things. I used to eat straight jalapenos from my grandma’s garden as a kid, much to everyone’s horror. I finished the wing but honestly, my head was getting a little light, too. I was getting a buzz and my nose was clearer than it had been in months. I wasn't going to tell him that though, especially after the scene he was making. I took another little sip of my milk.

“Dammit, it hurts,” he moaned, putting his hand on his chest.

I turned in my seat to watch him. “Baby, it's too early in the day to be dying over some chicken wings.”

“Why do I do these things to myself?” He asked me angrily. “What is wrong with me?”

“Because it's funny as fuck to watch us suffer?” Seth offered. He was still sweaty but he wasn't visibly wiggling in his spot anymore. He also gave up sooner though. He had already eaten several of his lactose pills. His farts were going to kill someone later. Hopefully much later.

Edward tried to straighten up but he had his hands on his hips to help hold himself up. He blinked several times, his eyes watering still, “And if you want to see Seth, Tyler, and I suffer some more like this remember to like, subscribe, and fucking whatever else you have to do. Goddamn...Dude, she destroyed us. What the fuck...”

“I think I might have lost my man card today,” Seth mumbled in joking annoyance. I smiled at him too brightly. 

“Yeah, I think I might have lost mine as well. Goddammit,” Edward agreed. I rolled my eyes. Masculinity was so damn fragile. 

“Don't worry, honey. I got it in my purse. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a picture to take for a wall.” I did an ironic sassy hair flip, giving a big kiss on the cheek to a gaping Edward. I stunned him into silence with my sarcasm. His mouth snapped shut in a pout. Seth and Tyler appreciated my burn heartily at his expense. 

I took my picture with the chef, me standing on a box so we were closer in height. It was usually used for the kids. But since I had been the only one to achieve the flight, no one teased me for it. Seth and Tyler were too busy ragging on Edward still.

Tyler drove. Edward ate half a roll of Tums in the backseat. Seth had the other half. I ate a cookie I had gotten at the pastry place earlier. It was white chocolate macadamia nut. I shared it with Tyler. Seth gave us all dirty looks. Probably because his stomach was already audibly rolling and popping. 

We took a private haunted tour of the old LA zoo with a local historian who spoke about the hauntings around Los Angeles. I asked about the Cecil Hotel hauntings in the middle of the tour to which the little old historian lady got very excited. 

Honestly, she and the chef both told me their name but for some reason, I instantly forgot them because my mind was Swiss cheese. Edward was brilliant at it though, luckily. But he was still very new to LA.

“I don't know what that is,” Edward admitted.

“It's called something else now. Stay on Main or something. It's a hotel by skid row that's had a bunch of famous suicides and accidents. And a lot of killers have stayed there. The Night Stalker for one. Then there was that poor girl in the tank recently,” I shuddered as I remembered the story from the news. That one always grossed me out. 

“Girl in a tank?” He asked, confused. “What kind of tank? I’m confused.”

“A young woman was found dead in the hotel's water tank, completely undressed. They only found her after the water began to turn black and the guest began to complain of the bad taste,” the woman told him almost gleefully. She enjoyed her job. I liked her. She was dark. 

“Holy hell!” Edward exclaimed with large eyes. You could practically see the color drain from his face. 

“There is a video where she looks like she's having a conversation with demons you can't see in the elevator before. Poor girl,” I told him. It was probably one of the weirder parts of the story. LA had a ton of weird crimes.

“From the security camera,” Seth chimed in from behind his camera. “I think someone was chasing her.”

“I don't think we'll ever know,” I said thoughtfully. “Like the Black Dahlia. But, I think there are quite a few credible suspects in that one at least. There was definitely a slashy type killer in LA at the time though and I'm kind of surprised we don't talk about it more like the Zodiac killer.”

“You know your true crime history!” The woman said happily. “You are very right. California has its share of unknown killers. The massive expanse and highways make it a perfect spot for killing. It's believed that there are around two thousand active serial killers in the United States at any given time and the West coast has a good portion of them.”

“Two thousand! Surely not. God, that makes me want to move back to Australia. Or, at least to Canada,” Edward said in repulsion at the idea of it. 

“Canada has the Trail of Tears. Dozens of Native women dead on the side of the roads. And millionaire pig farmers who feed their victims to hogs. And, Please. Australia has some pretty wild killers, too. Like, extra disturbed human skin curtains kind of bonkers,” I shared some of my unholy knowledge with him.

“How do you know so much about this?” Edward asked me, a little concerned if I was going to be honest. 

“I've read three true crime books just this week. I've probably read all of them at the New York Public Library. I borrow them on audiobook and listen to them while I edit,” I explained to them both. “And I’ve been listening to murder podcasts for ages, too.”

“Which books?” The woman asked, happy to have someone truly interested in something she obviously loved. 

“A Stranger Beside Me again, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and a book about Carl Panzram. I've also brought one about Ed Gein. I've listened to them all before, honestly,” I told her. ”These are just some of my favorites.”

“A Stranger Beside Me is so good,” she said almost wistfully. “She was so lucky.”

“What's it about? You mentioned it the other day. You said it was your favorite,” Edward questioned. This part was definitely not going in a video. I can't imagine how much shit he had to cut out of every video of us just talking and being stupid. 

“A former cop turned crime writer who worked beside Ted Bundy on a suicide hotline. It's a true story. She never thought he was the killer even after talking to the police, telling them that he had the same car as the killer... He seemed too nice. He was a monster, of course. He killed forty-something women,” I told him only the most basic details. He didn't want to know these things. 

“You seem very well-educated about true crime history,” the lady complimented me about my morbid knowledge. I couldn't imagine I was the only one who knew these things. The book was a bestseller after all.

“Thanks... I think. I've always been a little obsessed with death,” I said a little bit shyly. I wanted to explain this to him so he knew what he was getting into. “I grew up within sight of the cemetery my mom and grandparents are buried and I went all the time. I'd sit at my mom's grave. Pick all the wildflowers in the fields around it and cover it completely. Spend hours and hours talking to the graves. I was a dark kid, too.”

Edward smoothed a comforting hand my back and brushed some hair away from my shoulder. I leaned my head against him for just a moment. It was such a comforting action.

The little old woman leaned in. “Was your mother murdered?” She said it almost as a whisper. Edward's eyes got comically larger and he looked over at Tyler and Seth who was filming in an equal stupor. 

I laughed out of sheer shock, “no, ma'am. I'm not that dark. I've just always been followed by death.”

“Nope. Not dark at all,” he squeezed me by the waist and led me along to the next part of the tour. 

Poor horrified man. Whoops...

When we walked back to the car in the dark, Seth asked if we were a thing. He waved between us with a pointed finger, walking backward as he did.

“Probably not now that I've revealed my creepy pastime,” I told Seth with a laugh. He cursed and muttered something under his breath. He then pulled out his wallet and gave Tyler a twenty dollar bill. “What?” I asked.

“I bet you two would get together before you left,” Tyler explained. “And you haven't left yet. See, I told you they liked each other.”

“I never disagreed about that. Just about whether it would happen or not,” Seth replied.

“You're betting on my love life? Some friends you are,” Edward opened the car door for me up front and took the keys so he could drive home. “That doesn't seem very nice.”

“I just figured she was too good for you,” Seth teased him. 

Edward stopped for a second to consider his friend's words. “Oh. Well. Yes. You're not wrong.”

I shook my head wildly. “He is,” I commented. “You are wrong. I'm not too good for anyone.”

“No, I'm okay with being unworthy,” he brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. I had to fight my urge not to roll my eyes or giggle like a schoolgirl. I pulled my hand away to rest it on my lap, looking out of the window to hide my smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a little Japanese Grandma but she wasn’t fun. She was salty. And she didn’t make cakes. But she did say “no no no” while smacking people.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen-

 

I woke up early the next morning. It was raining again, but only lightly and you could see the blue sky trying to peek through the light gray clouds. It was seven and I couldn't fall back asleep. Edward was dead to the world with an arm over his eyes. We were holding hands when I woke up. Staying in that position as long as I could handle, I finally slipped away when I had to use the bathroom. 

I decided to work out, but this time in his little home gym. It had a treadmill, elliptical, a stationary bike, a weight set, for the bar and hand weights as well. There was also a weight machine just for the back muscles. I used it a lot when I went to the big ten dollars a month gym back home. I liked the idea of watching Edward use it. 

Starting with ten minutes on the treadmill, I jogged a slow mile to get my heart rate up before moving onto the weights. I did several reps focusing on my arms and back. Once I was done I decided to finish up with thirty minutes on the elliptical. It was the best workout I had achieved in a while. 

I was almost done when Edward stuck his head inside, sleepy and confused in just his underwear. 

“Hello.”

“Hi,” I replied, keeping the pace I had pushed up to. I wasn't going crazy since it had been so long since I had a real workout. I hadn't been to the gym in almost two weeks. “I didn't wake you, did I?”

“No, I have to get up earlier today because I have a meeting to go to this afternoon.”

“Exciting,” I tried to say evenly even though I was heavily breathing. 

He leaned against the door frame with a slight smile. “It is. It's with Disney. It's supposed to run all day though. I forgot to talk to you about it last night. I meant to. I got distracted.”

“What time is the meeting?” I panted.

“Eleven to Five or Six.”

I finished my thirty minutes and stepped down from the machine. My legs were a little tingly in a pleasant way. Making my way over to him, he came closer inside to meet my sweaty body with a hug and a deep kiss. “Let me shower and I can make you some breakfast,” I offered him.

“Are you sure?” Edward questioned. 

“Absolutely,” I replied with a kiss. 

“I wish I could take you with me to my meeting today,” he told me genuinely. There was so much worry in his pretty green eyes. They were always so expressive. 

“That's okay. You'll do amazing. And, I'll go out and have some alone time.”

“What will you do?” He asked sweetly, still worried.

“I'll go do a little shopping. Go to the grocery store and pick up some more milk. Do you need to do anything tonight?” I asked, tracing my finger under his tattoo lightly. 

“Nope,” he kissed at my temple and nuzzled his nose into my hair. I'm not sure how he could with me being so sweaty. He didn't seem bothered though.

I sighed happily, “I'll make us dinner tonight then.”

“That sounds so lovely. Thank you,” he kissed my mouth and I could taste my own sweat on his lips. I wove my fingers into his hair, holding onto the kiss as long as possible. He made my heart rate shoot right back up.

“I need to work out, too,” he mumbled in a pout when he finally pulled away. “I need to head out in a couple of hours.”

I left him to get changed and work out, quickly showering in the guest bedroom where all my clothes still were. Putting on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, I padded my way with sock covered feet to the kitchen. 

First I started making a fruit salad while I considered what to make us for breakfast. I sliced up the grapes, strawberries, oranges, apple, and a banana and tossed them in a couple of teaspoons of sugar so it could make a little syrup. I decided to make a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese and toast with butter and jam. The coffee was just finishing when he came out of his shower. 

“I'm going to be terribly spoiled to this cooking thing you're doing,” he told me when he saw his plate. Everything was still steaming. 

“You're so easily impressed,” I told him as I began to move everything to the kitchen table. Edward helped with the coffee and creamer as I took the plates. The fruit salad was already on the table in little bowls. 

“I don't think I've ever had anyone make breakfast for me that wasn't related to me or paid to,” he told me honestly. “Well, maybe Jasper. My mate. But not a woman, I mean.”

“That's sad. What kind of relationships have you been in?” I asked as I shuffled through the stack of papers I had brought to the table. It was sales papers, fliers, catalogs, and coupons. Things of those nature. I found one I wanted to look at and brought it to the top of the pile to browse while I ate. 

“I've only had two girlfriends actually. One was in Secondary. Like a high school for you Americans. So you can imagine we weren't really waking up together all that often. Or, at all,” he chuckled, “and the girl I was with the longest, didn't cook a damn thing ever. And, that was for the best,” he explained as he dove into his eggs after shoving a piece of bread into his mouth. “She'd seriously fuck up toast.”

“Cooking is not that hard,” I shook my head as I watched him. “How is it?”

“So good,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food. He swallowed hard. “Thank you.”

I smiled a little as I drank my coffee. It was nice to have someone new react so passionately about the things you made. Slowly I ate my fruit first, looking at the makeup catalog for a place I was definitely just window shopping for. Everything was so expensive.

“You look like a child wistfully looking at the Christmas toys catalog,” he teased. 

“Only a little bit,” I admitted. “I love all this junk. It's stupid. I'm so sucked into the packaging and the colors. I use to collect makeup, back in the day. Both new stuff and old vintage compacts and lipsticks, stuff like that. After Aiden, I didn't feel like doing it anymore. I got very minimalist and gave a lot of my things away to friends and family. Now, looking at it, I wonder how I spent that much money on it. I still want it all,” I laughed longingly, “but I won't get it. It's nice to imagine though.”

He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. “Why not get a few things?”

“I don't normally go out that much. I only wear makeup for professional reasons and the basics cover that. What I have now is just fine. But, there is this little part inside of me that goes 'oh, it's pink and purple with glitter and look, it has a cute little raspberry case'. And this kind likes to make their stuff smell like food so it might actually smell like raspberries,” I explained to him as I showed him the picture I was talking about. They had a whole fruit theme that I loved.

“So, what is that exactly? How does it smell like food?” He looked at the picture with his head cocked to the other side.

“Eyeshadow. They have this whole line that smells like chocolate because it's made with real cocoa powder. And now for Christmas, they have a gingerbread cookie and a sugar cookie scents eyeshadows. And lipsticks, too. One of my good friends used to be a makeup artist and used the chocolate one on me a few times. He had people sniff my eyelids all day,” I laughed a little as I thought about it. “Girl, don't she smell like a brownie,” I imitated my friend's voice and funny Brooklyn by way of Jersey accent. It made him smile. 

“You have a bit of money now if you wanted to treat yourself,” he pointed at my phone that was sitting beside me. 

“I'm going to treat myself to paying off some bills,” I explained firmly. “I should pay some bills today as a matter of fact. I have a few other adult things to do. Like I need to buy my ticket home.”

Edward frowned, “I wish you didn't have to.”

I smiled a little sadly. “Me too, but I have things I have to do. Promises I have to keep.”

“Can I talk you into staying until a day or two after Halloween? It's my favorite holiday. Or, one of. Anyway, we could do something together. Maybe go out,” Edward pouted out his bottom lip a little bit subconsciously. 

I looked at the calendar on my phone to give myself time to think about the answer I wanted to give him. Halloween was a Wednesday. I didn't have any work arranged until the following Monday. Everything else I had planned was volunteer stuff that I could back out of. Alice would understand. She was always prepared for that possibility with any volunteers.

I needed to talk to her as well. Boy, do I have some things to tell her...

“Friday the second?” I bit my lip as I thought about it. Yes flashed in my mind over and over again but I didn’t want to be too eager.

“Please? If you do I'll buy your ticket and you can save your gift card to come to see me whenever you want. Like… on my birthday,” he finished his coffee so I poured him another.

“When is your birthday?” I asked curiously. We hadn’t spoken about our birthdays any.

“The twenty-third of November.”

“Oh... I drew out. His birthday was so close to Aiden's. “That's the day after Thanksgiving. I've already made plans with my friends and that Saturday I'm doing a charity show at my friend's theater that he runs. The former makeup guy I was just mentioning, actually. It's for LGBTQ youth. I do it every year,” I explained to him. “I wish you could come to Thanksgiving and stay with me. You could meet all my friends.”

“Is that an invitation?” Edward asked curiously. “You've already said your Thanksgivings were out of this world. And, well… I believe you.”

I thought about it for a second. “You know what? Yes, it is. I’d love it if you came to Thanksgiving.”

Edward smiled widely, “fantastic. I don't know what I'm working that week but I'm taking the following week off. I'd like to spend it with you. If that’s alright with you, of course.”

“That sounds really nice,” I admitted, wondering how this big man would fit in my tiny world. 

“So, the second, then?” He reminded me. I wanted to stay. I nodded slowly, no longer able to hide my growing smile. “Oh, brilliant. Thank you. I'll work out the ticket for you today. What time do you want to fly? Afternoon? Not too early?” He spoke excitedly. 

“Sounds good,” I chewed on the side of my thumb. 

“Alright. Yes. Perfect. Okay,” Edward stood from his chair, “I need to go. I don't want to be late. Do you need anything before I leave?”

“No, I'm good,” I promised him. “I'm going to wash up and go out, too.”

“Okay,” he leaned down to kiss me with his hand in my hair. “Mm, you have sugar on your lips,” he kissed me again, then again quickly, making me giggle. “Have a good day.”

“Good luck at your meeting,” I told him with a small smile.

“Oh, I won't need luck. It's just a brainstorming session and I am prepared,” Edward assured me confidently. I’m not sure it was entirely real. “Text me if you need anything. I'll have my phone on me all day.”

When he left I washed our breakfast dishes. I needed more shampoo and conditioner at the very least and I wanted to look at clothes again. Perhaps another suitcase as well for all the junk I was buying. I decided to look at my bank account again. I should have sat down.

Gasping loudly, I actually dropped my phone. It clattered to the floor loudly. Thankfully it didn't crack the screen, just scuffing the corner.

There was no way that number could have been right. It was just over ten thousand. I picked up my phone off the floor, looking at the transactions. My check from the magazine had come through and it was over three thousand itself. I knew about that, I reminded myself. That meant that around four thousand came just from Edward's video in the past two and a half days. 

I went to my computer and looked up videos he had put up recently. I hadn't looked at them at all. So far he had posted three videos with me in them. First was the chips, then the video of the jump, then the candy video. The jump had been up two days and had already gotten one hundred million views. The other two had over ten million views apiece. Two of the three were on the front page of YouTube as trending. I couldn’t bring myself to actually watch them though. 

I could have cried. I could take the rest of the year off if I wanted to. I wasn't, but it was a nice thought. Alice and I often made jokes about our desire to be lazy and take off work for wild stretches at a time. Days. Weeks. Months. 

Right there I paid off most of my credit cards before I could change my mind. That was four thousand gone in a second, but it made me extremely happy. I was now completely debt free after years of being under after Aiden. I moved another four thousand into savings, giving me five thousand in saving and two thousand in my checking to spend. By the time I had finished, it bumped up another hundred, just like before. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

I decided to do some Christmas shopping since my holidays had been so threadbare for the last few years. I could spoil my friends a little and LA was a great place to shop. 

I called for an Uber and waited for it in the front yard. Alice would have been busy at work so I sent her a text message asking her to call me when she got a chance so I could talk to her. I was in the car when she called.

“Hey, what's up?” She said worriedly.

“Shouldn't you be working?” I commented.

“Nah, it's fine. I'm just doing paperwork. I can multitask.”

“Then Kebi can fix all the mistakes?” I asked, referring to our mutual friend who worked as her main office manager. She was better at her job than any of us deserved. 

“That's what I'm paying her very well to do,” she replied. “When you coming home?”

“Um...” I drew out quietly. “The second. Probably late in the evening. I don't know what time yet.”

“Why so long?” She demanded to know quickly. “Can you not get an earlier flight?”

“I'm sure I could but I wanted to have a little vacation,” I told her. “I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it sooner.”

“Is that all?” Alice asked concerned for me. “Are you okay?”

There wasn't any reason to delay it any longer. I was going to end up telling her every single detail anyway. I wasn't sure how she would react though. “I've started seeing Edward.”

“What do you mean seeing him?”

“How do you think I mean?” I whispered at her. The driver was pretty much ignoring me. There was music playing in the background.

“Holy shit! No way!” She actually shouted into the phone. 

I pulled the speaker away from my ear, grimacing. “Yeah.”

“But, he's so young.”

“There is less of a difference between him and me and me and Aiden,” I told her defensively. “He was eleven years older.”

“I guess that's true,” she conceded. “But, that's different. Men are already so immature.”

“Hashtag not all men?” I answered. “He's not immature. He's not completely mature either but he has his shit together for the most part. Perhaps a little naive, but...” I trailed off. “I invited him to Thanksgiving.”

She was surprised. “Already?”

“It's his birthday the day after and he wanted me to come back for it,” I explained guiltily. 

“But the show.”

“Right. So, I invited him to New York. More the merrier, you know? It's kind of our motto. You know how we like to take in the strays.”

“Some stray. But can you afford to stay there that long?” She asked, concerned for me. 

“Yeah, I'll tell you about that later though. I got paid for the shoot today. I'm actually in a taxi about to go shopping,” I told her. “I want to do a little Christmas shopping since I'm here and I was going to go to the grocery store. I'm going to cook dinner tonight.”

“What are you making? I miss your food.”

“I haven't decided. I think maybe a pot roast.”

“With glazed carrots and peas? Mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes?” You could hear her tasting it in her mouth as she spoke about it. At least I knew she liked my food. 

“Mashed potatoes,” I picked at my pants as we chatted. “I've already made him roasted and fried potatoes. I'd make some yeast rolls if he had a good mixer but I think I'll just get a package of bread. I need to think of some kind of dessert, too.”

“You really like him,” Alice commented in a bemused voice.

“I cook for everyone.”

“Well, yes. Everyone you like,” she pointed out.

“Well, yeah. Duh. I do like him. I’m seeing him. He's my boyfriend now. Fuck... that word feels gross. It makes me feel old,” I sighed as I laid my head back against the seat. 

“You're not old. You just feel that way.”

“Isn't that what matters?” I questioned. 

“No. Your perceived old age has more to do with your level of depression the last few years than actually how old you are.”

“Thanks, Dr. Brandon,” I snarked back to her. 

“Well, it is,” she said defensively.

“Okay, but you don't have to remind me,” I complained. “And, I've had a good reason to be. But, I'm moving on. I have a boyfriend. Gah, it is so weird.”

“If you don't like the word boyfriend call him your partner or something then. That fixes the problem.” She was always thinking like a therapist.

“I guess,” I thought about it. “I don't know how it all happened so fast.”

“Isn't that how those things happen?”

“Who knows?” I laughed, “I'm always surprised. He is so young and excited about everything. What am I going to do when he figures out my soul is like... charcoal black?”

“Your soul isn't black. It's like the coffee you make. A mocha color,” she teased lightly. “Look, be yourself. Be open. Be honest. And if it doesn't work out you at least hopefully got to see him naked.”

I laughed quietly, “you're right. I'll have some great memories.”

“Well, the second then? So, what you're telling me is I have to find someone else to take your spot while you're banging some random Australian dude? Shame on you, Bells. Shame,” Alice continued her mocking.

“Uh, yeah, bitch,” I said dryly. “You heard me.”

“Oh, you spicy. I see you. Finally getting some making you act all bold. Must be some good dick,” she said saucily as she typed on the computer. “And you said he'd rip you apart... Alright, I've got your spot reopened. We're figuring out next years travel schedule next week if you want to have an opinion, by the way.”

“Japan. Greece, Germany. Australia and New Zealand are my top votes.” We hadn't gone to any of those places in a couple of years. Japan especially. I wanted to see those fun bowing deer or the bunny island. Or, go to a cat cafe.

“Alright, I'll see what I can do. I miss you, Bells,” she said quietly, getting more serious.

“I miss you too, Al. I needed this, though,” I said with a sigh.

“Agreed.”

I saw the sign for the shopping center a moment before we turned in. “I'm in the mall parking lot so I'm going to let you go. You need to focus on your paperwork, anyway.”

“Alright, sweetie. Love you. Be safe. Text me later and send me nude pics if you can.”

I guffawed, “of me? Or, him? Or...both?” I teased her. ”Love you, too, you perv. Have a good day. Eat some fruit.”

“Yes, mom. Bye, mom,” she replied sarcastically. “And, either slash or. I’m easy. Surprise me,” Alice said in reference to the nudes. I giggled as I hung up on her. 

I spent the afternoon shopping for myself and my friends. I ended buying myself a large new hard shell luggage case that was rainbow striped. Luckily I bought that last so I didn't have to haul it all around the mall with me. I did, of course, have to bring it with me inside the grocery store but I could just put it inside the cart. I got a few looks with it and a couple of compliments.

I wasn't sure what I was looking for in the store. Milk, of course. More eggs, butter, bread, and some other basics as well. We needed more coffee already, too. I decided on the roast for sure, mashed potatoes with gravy, peas, glazed carrots, and Hawaiian rolls. I also got some bacon for breakfast, avocado, tomatoes, and tortillas as well. I wasn't sure how much we were going out in the next week for work so I didn’t get a ton of things. For dessert, I decided to make a simple chocolate mousse with whipped cream. 

I was halfway back to his place when I realized I didn't know his house key code. It was just after two in the afternoon. I hoped I wasn't bothering when I texted him. 

“I forgot to get your key code,” I texted him quickly. I just hoped I wouldn't be sitting outside for too long with groceries.

“I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you,” Edward responded right away. “It's 10051985”

I looked at the number and knew it instantly. My heart dropped. “That's my birthday?”

“Your birthday is May 10th, 1985?” He replied back.

“No, October 5th, 1985.”

“Oh, that's right. It's backward here. It's one of my sister's birthdays. One of the middle ones. Sasha. I figured my birthday was too obvious so I always use one of my sister's birthdays instead,” he explained to me.

“It's going to be easy for me to remember,” I answered back. I was a little relieved that he wasn't some sort of weird stalker that had somehow already figured out my birthday and was using it for his passcode. That would have been too weird, even for me. 

The female driver helped me bring all the groceries in from the car after I put in the keycode at the door. I gave her an extra tip in cash for it and thanked her.

I put the stuff away and started to prepare dinner since it was going to slow cook in the oven for a few hours. I figured everything would be done around seven, giving him plenty of time to get home and get comfortable before he ate. First I started with the beef, searing the outside in butter then resting it on a bed of onions in a pan that went straight into a low oven. Next, I made the mousse and whipped cream, using a hand mixer I bought from the store because I wasn't sure if he had one. All I could find was a bent whisk. It looked as if it had been smashed in the drawer.

There wasn't much else for me to do while those cooked. The mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas wouldn't be made for hours. The house was extremely quiet without Edward, different somehow than in the mornings. Less welcoming. 

I decided to work on pictures. It was three in the afternoon and I had a few hours to be by myself. Or, so I thought. It was only thirty minutes later when I felt a warm hand slide over my shoulder. I hadn't heard him come in because of the podcast going on in my ears. Edward leaned in and kissed my temple. I jumped a little, then relaxed into his kiss.

“You're home early. Is that good or bad?” I asked, rubbing my hand over his arm that hugged me. 

“Very good,” he smiled at me exuberantly, combing my hair away from my cheek with his long thin fingers before pressing a kiss into it.

“Let me just finish sending these picture to Al and you can tell me all about it,” I kissed his fingertips lightly. The pictures were definitely not nude, but there were a couple of him topless at the tattoo shop and of his very nice ass in the flight suit. 

“Don't rush,” Edward said as he went into the kitchen. “It smells so good in here.”

“I hope you like it. It's roast beef,” I told him as I typed out a quick email. No nudes for you. “It won't be done for a while though. I wasn't expecting you yet.”

“That's okay,” he got something from the fridge and got some glasses from the cabinet. “I haven't had a roast in ages. Sounds perfect.”

I heard a cork pop behind me. I turned to see him pouring us each a glass of champagne. 

“It was a really good meeting,” I commented, finally sending the email before I closed my laptop to give him my full attention. 

He handed me the stemless glass. “I just sold a script to Disney. They're going to make my animated full-length movie and not only will I have part of the creative control, but I will also be doing the lead character. I'll get a huge cut of everything. The movie. The toys. Future movies and shows. The clothes. Everything.”

“What?!” I nearly screamed as I hopped up off the couch. Throwing my arms around his neck, I almost spilled all the champagne down his back. “Why didn't you tell me that's what you were going to do?! This is so big! Oh, my god! How exciting, Edward!”

“I didn't know!” He laughed. “I gave it to them on a fluke a couple of months ago when they first did my contract. I was just supposed to work on a brainstorming session for a television show for the Disney Channel today but they wanted to talk to me about this instead. They kind of blindsided me. They loved it though! They're talking about a 2022 release day. It's so soon! We’ve already got some tentative paperwork in place. I just need to let Zafrina and my lawyer look over the contract.”

I kissed him deeply. 

“I'm so happy for you!”

Edward's face was alight with happiness. He took the glasses and put them on the side table before kissing me back wildly. I laughed as we fell back on the couch with the force of his mouth. His fingers were woven into my hair, his hips wedge between my legs. I wrapped my legs around his waist, wiggling against him. 

“I am literally euphoric,” he laughed lightly with tears in his eyes. Edward sniffled as he pressed his head into my neck. I held him to me, stroking his back. “I'm so glad you're here so I can share it with you.”

“You're such a darling,” I soothed my lips against his forehead. “What do you want to do to celebrate?”

“This. Exactly this,” he laid beside me, pulling me to his side. I placed my head on his chest, weaving my fingers with his so that they came to rest on his stomach. Edward sniffled again, tears going down his cheeks. “I'm so overwhelmed right now.”

“I can only imagine. But, you are going to be so amazing! You are so talented and funny. It's going to be great,” I told him as I laid my head on top of his shoulder so I could look at him better. He held his forehead against mine, nodding a little and trying to breathe slowly.

“We shouldn't forget about our champagne,” I said after a few minutes of silence, smiling a little bit. 

“Oh right!” He laughed as he sat up a little. We propped into the corner with our drinks, our bodies molded into one another. His arm was wrapped around my shoulder as I leaned my head against him. 

“How was your day?” Edward asked after a glass. He was so overwhelmed he had been lost in his own thoughts. 

“It was not nearly as exciting as yours,” I informed him. “I just went to the mall. Got some food for tonight and tomorrow and started dinner. I made a mousse for dessert,” I told him softly. “I talked to Al and told her about you and Thanksgiving.”

“I hope she likes me.”

“Oh? Al? She is friends with every single person she meets. She is the most agreeable person on the planet. She's actually a therapist by training. And she's pretty great at it,” I explained to him. “She was the only one brave enough to be friends with me in first grade despite my grandma being the scary lunch lady and my big scary scar. Came up at recess on the second day of school I was there, told me that everyone else was scared of Mamaw but she didn't care. She liked my big hair, weird eyes, cool scar and let me copy her homework,” I smiled as I thought about it. It was one of my favorite memories. It always gave me so much comfort.

“How does one become an Al? Alexandra? Alana?” He questioned curiously.

“Mary Alice Brandon.”

“That sounds very southern.”

“She's Cajun, actually. Her twin sister is named Rosalie. I thought it was so awesome when my best friend came with a bonus best friend with the exact same face.”

He chuckled, “I can see why that would make someone happy. Bonus besties. Are you all still close?”

“Yeah. Rose and her husband live in New York, too. In Coney Island. They'll be at Thanksgiving,” I explained. “They're both lawyers. Rosalie is in family law and Emmett, her husband, is an immigration lawyer. They're really great. They're both so kind and generous. They both give a lot of pro bono work for CFA, the non-profit. Emmett was one of the first volunteers we had that wasn't a family member. It's how they met,” I explained to him. I was missing my family. I hadn’t talked to Rose much in the past few months. She was so busy.

“What a wonderful way to meet someone,” Edward commented. “They sound like lovely people.”

“They are. It's like having two sisters and a brother now. I'm so glad Ms. Lettie, their mom, took me in. She’s always been so accepting. They've all been so good to me. I can't imagine having a better family,” I told him pensively, almost a little sad. “Normally she'd be in town too for Thanksgiving but she's going to spend it with her stepfamily in Texas. She feels really bad about it but both Alice and Rosalie are relieved. She's a handful,” I smiled as I thought about the grand old woman. “They're all going down there for Christmas for a couple of weeks though.”

“Are you going to go with them?”

“No,” I shook my head. “Two weeks is too long for me to be in Texas. I made the excuse of work. I'm just going to send a gift. There was much guilt to be had.”

“Oh, speaking of gifts,” he said as he reached behind the couch and pulled out a large orange bag that I recognized right away as Ulta. He placed it on my lap. 

“What did you do?” I asked, surprised at both the size of the bag of the sheer weight of it on my legs. 

He looked pleased with himself. “I had a good day so I wanted to spread the love. Happy belated birthday.”

I timidly reached in the bag and began to pull all the stuff out. There was so much of it. “Oh, my god,” I muttered, shocked, as I laid it out next to me. “What did you do?” I asked again. 

“I didn't know exactly what to get, but I remembered you said you liked this brand. So, I told them to get me basically one of everything. I showed them a couple of pictures and they picked out the colors for foundation and everything. So, if it's not right, we can return it. I also got to talking to them and they told me about the 'fan favorites' and I told them to just give me whatever a girl might need to put on their face. Which is apparently a shit load of things,” he explained proudly. Edward was very happy with himself.

“Holy hell! How much did you spend?”

“Um, I don't know. I signed up for their little club though and they said I had already hit 'platinum' or ‘diamond’ or… something and that you could get some good stuff from it. Free shipping, too. So, if you ever see anything else you need. I don't know if I missed anything,” he tried to say nonchalantly. 

“I'll never need anything ever again!” There were things from almost every popular brand Ulta sold, though most of it was from Too Faced. There were at least a dozen eyeshadow palettes, highlighters, blush, and eyeliners in every shade. There had to be twenty-five different lip products. There were sponges, brushes, cleaners, creams, masks, eyelashes, tools, and probably every little sample thing you could get for spending so much. “This is crazy!” I told him sincerely. “Why?”

“Do you not like it?” He asked worriedly.

“No. I love it,” I felt so guilty. “It's just too much.”

“We'll get you a box or something to keep it in.” He wasn't getting my point on purpose. “We will get you some more luggage.”

“That's not what I mean,” I laughed as I rubbed my hands over my eyes. “I actually bought a suitcase today. I just... Eddie, are you sure? This is a lot.”

“Why wouldn't I be sure about seeing you happy? Seeing you smile is worth every cent,” he said charmingly.

I shook my head. “You have the biggest day of your career and you buy me a gift though? I should be buying you dinner or drinks.”

“And, you have bought me dinner,” he motioned towards the kitchen. “And, it seems like a perfect celebratory meal. Besides, like I said. It's for your birthday. I missed it by that much,” he pinched his fingers together, a sweet smile on his face. He was prepared for me. He knew he had won me over when I scrunched up my nose at him. “I only missed it by a couple of weeks.”

“Thank you,” I finally told him, totally overwhelmed now myself as I looked over my bounty of makeup supplies. There was perhaps thousands of dollars worth of stuff laid out just for me. Demetri would be so jealous. I was going to have to send him pictures. 

“You are very welcome, my darling,” he kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger on my skin. 

“When I used to get new makeup I would try it all out by doing swatches of all the colors on my arms. I have the strongest urge to basically paint my entire body funny colors,” I told him truthfully, my eyes still wide and my voice quiet. 

He laughed, his head resting back against the pillows. “I don't think you have enough real estate to do all the shades. You might have to do it a few times. Wash off and start fresh.”

“The bottom of your shower would be looking like someone murdered a clown,” I warned him with a ridiculous grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, I changed the birthdays. A non-cannoning we go. And don’t worry, it really is just his sister’s birthday. They are just that close, but you’ll see that more in the future. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen-

 

We finished the bottle of champagne and Edward decided to have a joint before dinner. I took the time to open as many boxes as I could. The back of one hand was ten shades of pink while the other was purple. I had blues up one arm and greens on the other. I had begun to test out highlighters on Edward's forearm. 

“I love the gold,” I moaned as I rubbed the powder across his skin. Beside it was a vivid pink and orange. The textures were so nice. They really stood out on his pale skin.

“There was a gold lipstick,” he pointed out as he rifled through some of the boxes until he found it. 

“Ohhhh...” I took it out of the box. Pulling out the wand, I inspected the shiny lip gloss. “I've got a bunch of gold eyeshadow, too. I could go as an Oscar for Halloween.” I pulled out my phone and used the camera as a mirror to smear some onto my lips. “Oh,” I giggled, way too pleased with the result. “I'm shiny as fuck.”

He took the wand from me and delicately pushed it around the general region of his lips. “Yes, but how do I look?”

I laughed, leaning forward to kiss him and make even more of a mess with his amazing metallic lips. By the time we were done we both had it all over our cheeks and chins. He took my phone from me and took a selfie with us doing a duck face, covered in gold. It was incredibly stupid and I loved it so much. 

After cleaning up, Edward and I finished making our meal. He mostly sat at the island though, still smoking, as he told me about his movie. 

“I should tell my family after dinner. They should all be awake by then,” he looked at his phone after passing me the joint. 

“Your nieces are going to think you're the coolest uncle ever. Especially the new one. She'll be about four or five when it comes out. She'll be the exact right age to be obsessed with the songs. How fun,” I thought out loud with a smile. I passed the smoke back to him. 

“If they do a premiere in Sydney I could get them all to come. All my girls,” he rested his head in his hand. “I'm going to be able to do whatever I want to do after this. Disney is basically a license to print money. I'll be able to set up funds for my sisters and their daughters and make sure they'll always be taken care of. I'll be able to buy my parents a house and a new car if they want it. Get them the best nurses when they get older and need more help. My grandparents, too. And I'll be able to do whatever project I want to do. I can just do what I'm passionate about. It won't have to be about a paycheck ever again.”

He tapped the ashes in the tray with a little sigh.

I knew he needed me more to listen than to say anything. Edward had all these things building up inside of him and he had to get them out. His happiness was almost tinged with a panicked anxiousness that often comes with success. He felt like an imposter. He had worked very hard for it though and was good at the business end of things. Zafrina, his manager, was really helping as well. I was sure she was over the moon at his success. It probably made her so much money.

We ate a quiet dinner and I went to get washed up from my day while he talked to his family. He was still on the phone when I got out of the shower so I decided to blow dry and straighten my hair. Then I decided to use as many of the products that he had gotten me as possible since he was still talking after that. Edward was sitting outside by the pool and I could see him from my vantage point by the lighted vanity. The glass wall from his bedroom had a good view of his whole backyard. He made such big hand gestures when he was excited. It made me smile. 

I dressed in the bra and panties he picked out from Target for me and slipped on a silky red nightgown that I had gotten earlier that day. I even switched out my silver studs in my ears for something more interesting, even if they were just cheap little colored gemstones. It was fully dark outside when he came back inside.

He found me at the vanity, dabbing on some fierce matte red lipstick. Edward stood at the doorway, almost shyly. 

“I'm sorry that took so long.”

“You're fine, honey,” I assured him. “I hope everyone is doing well.”

“Yeah, they are. That was a lot of calls,” he answered quietly. “You look stunning. Your hair is so much longer when it's straight. It's almost to your arse.”

I shook my hair loose, showing off how nice it currently looked since I was using expensive shampoo and a leave-in conditioner. I got up from the vanity and did a little spin to show him everything he was getting that night, my hands out beside me. 

“How did I do?” I closed my eyes and showed off my makeup to him. 

“It's very pretty. You are very pretty. Though it's like you're photoshopped your face in real life,” he teased. “I'm afraid to mess it up.”

“I only put it on so you could mess it up,” I grinned wickedly up at him as I tugged at the bottom of his button-down shirt.

“Well, in that case,” he pulled my mouth closer to his so he could kiss me deeply, passionately. His arms went around my waist, holding me tightly to him with his fingers spread wide over my back and ass. His hand went fully down to firmly grip my bottom, his fingers pushing my dress up some as he did. Soon it was lifted over the cheek he was squeezing, smoothing his palm over the pink lacy boy shorts. 

When Edward pulled away he looked a bit vampish with the red staining his lips, chin, cheeks, neck, and nose. I could only imagine I looked the same. His smile gave away his own amusement at our look.

We kissed in the doorway of his bathroom for twenty minutes before Edward easily lifted me from the ground onto the open counter space on the vanity. His hands were all over my body. Somehow I was able to work off his shirt while he threw my nightgown to the side.

I was going to have bruises all over my chest from him, little round hickeys already dotting my breasts. All I could do was hang onto him as he lavished me with attention. Edward went down to his knees in front of me, pressing my legs apart with warm wet kisses across my thighs. I was so wet already that I had made my lacy pink panties slick. He licked and kissed me through them, one of my hands in his hair while the other kept me upright.

“Damn, damn... damnnnn....” I drew out stupidly when my orgasm hit me, arching my back so hard that I actually bounced my head against the mirror with a sharp crack. He didn't seem to notice the loud thud or didn’t care because he didn't stop. When he finally moved my panties out of the way to push his fingers inside I made an inhuman noise. My legs wrapped around his shoulders, my foot uncontrollably twitching. He was at just the right angle, his fingers reaching deep inside of me. My thighs were trembling as I leaned back against the mirror again. Edward had a very talented tongue. I was surprised I didn't yank his hair out with the force of my orgasms that he gave me, one right after the other. 

When he finally pulled away he kissed me eagerly as he worked off my bra from my shoulders. I pulled it away before helping with his trousers. I wrapped my legs around his waist, holding myself to him as I gave him my own hickey on his shoulder. 

When the foreplay became too much I hopped down from the countertop and took his hand to lead him back into the bedroom. I stopped to adjust the blankets, purposely bending over to rub my ass against his erection. He groaned, pulling my hips back against him. 

“I want to fuck you like this. I want to fuck you from behind,” he said roughly into my ear as he kept us pressed together. Instead of saying anything I just lowered my wet panties to the ground. 

I cried out into the mattress, my face shoved deeply into it when he slid inside. He held onto my hips as he pressed himself in deeply over and over again. Clinging to the sheets, my body bucked without my permission. I could feel him deep in the pit of my stomach. Edward moaned and hissed as he tried to focus on not finishing too quickly. When his hand slid up my back to pull my hair I came so hard that I could feel myself dripping around him. I felt his entire body shudder behind me before he called out with his own climax. 

I crawled up onto the bed, my body completely spent and sending electrical charges up my thighs and stomach. Edward threw the condom away and went to the bathroom to quickly clean up. I couldn't move yet though. When he came back he leaned over and placed a kiss on my lips. There was still lipstick on his face. 

“Well, your makeup looks wild now,” he told me, way too pleased with his handiwork. 

“That's because half of it's on your bed,” I showed him the sheets. You could see my foundation, concealer, powder, lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara smashed like a weird mask shape on the white sheets. It was horrifying.

“Well... shit,” Edward laughed cheerfully. “Whoops.”

“I'll wash the sheets tomorrow,” I told him as he crawled into bed with me. I laid my head on top of his chest. 

“I have to go to the studio tomorrow,” he told me after a few minutes of cuddling. “I have to do some voiceover work for a commercial. Will you be okay by yourself again? I feel bad but I can't get out of it.”

“No, it's perfect,” I tried to reassure him. “I need to finish up your pictures so I can send them. I'm almost done but, there is always more I can do. What time do you have to go? I'll make you breakfast before.”

“Noon. But you don't have to do that. I love your cooking but I feel bad making you cook for me all the time,” he rubbed his finger over my shoulder as he tried to pull me impossibly closer.

“Don't. I love cooking for my friends. And a way to a man's heart and all that,” I laughed a little as I traced his tattoo with my finger. “Besides, you're still in the super grateful stage and it's my favorite part,” I dragged my nail lightly along the vine work and roses. “I was thinking breakfast tacos.”

“Yes, I would be very grateful for breakfast tacos,” he nodded dramatically. “The way to a man's heart is definitely tacos.”

“You know, there is this myth that the most proposed over a meal is roasted chicken and somehow not tacos,” I joked.

Edward tilted his head in confusion. “How would they know that? If it's true, why chicken? Is it just roasted chicken or does fried chicken count? Or, is that too greasy?”

“A roast chicken takes a lot of work and often comes out bland and dry if you don't know what you're doing. I guess it shows a certain level of skill in the kitchen. Wife material. But, is it the same if you go to a restaurant?” I mused with him playfully. “Then someone else is doing the work but does it provide the same desired effect? A placebo, if you will.”

“These are the hard questions that need to be asked,” he teased, making me snort. “I don't think I'd want to propose over food. What if they had garlic or onions? What if they had chicken in their teeth? It's not very romantic or original.”

“Most proposals aren't very romantic, I don't think. Or, original. But I'd rather get engaged over a meal than over a pregnancy test any day of the week,” I answered knowingly.

“Wait... You don't have kids, do you?” He said with a soft surprised tone and wide innocent eyes.

I swatted his stomach, hard. He just laughed. “Sorry! I'm joking. I'm joking.”

“No. I just thought I was pregnant and I had a panic attack,” I began to explain to him. “Aiden brought me a couple of tests and handed them to me and said, 'it doesn't really matter. We were going to get married anyway.' And it was negative, of course. It was actually food poisoning, not morning sickness, but somehow we were engaged. We got married a few months later. I was only nineteen,” I told him, lost in my own thoughts. “That is the most simplified version of the story, to say the least. I guess it was romantic that he already knew what he wanted. I don't know.”

“You deserved something more special than that,” Edward traced his finger over my left shoulder carefully. 

“I was so young. I was just happy someone wanted me at all, let alone wanted to keep me. He did get me a ring after that. Gave it to me on the first night of Hanukkah.” I reached down and covered myself with a blanket. “I'll take a shitty proposal and a good marriage over a good proposal and a shitty marriage.”

“It's possible to have both,” he pointed out. 

“It's also possible we make ourselves unhappy by having too many expectations for ourselves and others. You might not know that yet since you’re young and you’ve reached for the moon and literally made it to Jupiter right off the bat. It's not that you haven't worked for it either. You're just lucky enough not to have that life experience yet. I'm insanely jealous,” I told Edward honestly. He was quiet and pensive, stroking my back as he considered what I said before sighing heavily.

“You're right about expectations. It's an obvious thing. I know we can't have it all but it doesn't stop me from wanting it.”

I lifted my head so I could look at him better. “Well, in your case you could have it all. So, why listen to me?”

Edward shook his head. “Don't discount yourself or your thoughts and feelings. They're valid.”

“In another life, you would make for a good therapist,” I told him as I looked into his beautiful green eyes, my chin resting on his peck. He had such lovely eyes and they were so intently focused on me. “Did it ever get that serious with anyone for you?”

“Um... Not really. Yes and no. I was going to propose to the girl I had been dating before I moved here. I thought that she'd move with me to LA and I'd ask her to marry me on our fourth anniversary in June. Victoria didn't want to move, though. She didn't want to leave Sydney or her friends. Or, her job. She is an interior designer. I understand I guess. I just wish she told me right away, instead of at the last minute. Letting me plan everything as I did. But, to be honest, I think Vicky was ready to be rid of me.”

“Why do you think that?” I asked.

“I don't know. A feeling. She thought I was an immature ass most of the time. She started dating someone pretty soon after, too. I don't think she was cheating, per se, but I think she was thinking about it really hard. I wish her all the best,” he said quietly, a little frown on his face. “I hope the next asshole likes her weird tastes in furniture and burnt toast.”

“Well, her loss,” I mumbled into his chest tattoo as I pressed a kiss against it. 

We woke up together that morning to the alarm on Edward's phone. We worked out in his little gym and took a leisurely shower together afterward. Edward helped me with our delicious breakfast of egg and bacon tacos with caramelized onions, mushrooms, fresh tomato, avocado, and cheese. And fruit salad again since he had liked it so much the day before. He mostly handed me things and made the coffee. He was getting good at the coffee though.

We ate outside under the umbrella. It was a perfect day.

And, that's where he left me to go to work. Outside in the sunshine with his silver box of joints for me if I wanted them later. He kissed me deeply before he left, his gentle fingers brushing the hair from my eyes. 

I sat under the umbrella with my laptop until my battery nearly died three hours later before moving to the dining room table. An hour later I got myself a glass of wine to take the edge off of sending in my pictures to Jessica at Vaudevillian. I looked over them three times then checked them once more to be sure. When I finally sent the email my heart was in the pit of my stomach. 

I couldn't look at another picture for a day or so, so I put my computer away. My eyes hurt a little bit. I started Edward's sheets and blankets in the washer so that they would be clean when he got home. Then I decided to make use of his good weed and smoke outside while listening to a book. It was a perfect seventy degrees outside. I stayed out until the book finished a couple of hours later. I had listened to all the audiobooks I had downloaded for the trip. 

After taking a relaxing bath in his amazing tub I decided it was finally time to start dinner. I had decided to make homemade pasta for us. Something with a nice egg dough and a creamy sauce. I didn't have a machine so I made it all by hand. 

I made his bed while the dough was resting. The blankets were so soft and warm. I had admittedly been in yoga pants and a tank top all day, just ready to crawl back into bed again. I was getting spoiled to how good his beds were. They sure as hell beat my couch.

Edward sent me a text just as I was finishing rolling out the noodles with a wine bottle. Of course, he didn’t have a rolling pin. “Would you like me to pick up anything for dinner or would you like to order dinner?” He asked.

“I'm making homemade pasta if that's alright?” I sent back. I guess I could have asked him before. I was just so used to not having to with Alice. She would eat any of my food at any time. 

“Oh, yes, please. Do we have garlic bread?”

“No. If you want to stop and get some french bread I'll be more than happy to make you some. It sounds good,” I texted in return. 

“Should I get dessert?” The phone flashed almost instantly. He was such a fast typer. 

I thought about it for a minute. “Up to you. We have leftover mousse and whipped cream still. And strawberries.”

“That sounds good,” he sent the message with a heart emoji and a chocolate bar symbol. “I'll be home as soon as I can.”

Cooking in his kitchen and waiting for him to get home from work was somehow giving me a sense a deja vu. I had already gotten used to the space and working in it. It felt comfortable and friendly to me. Though, I would have liked better equipment. 

He arrived with the bread and a pretty bouquet of yellow roses for me. 

“How beautiful. Do you have a vase to put them in?” I asked Edward. The expression on his face made me giggle. It was one of mild panic. Why on earth would he have a vase? “No. That's okay. I'll figure it out.”

A freakishly large clear glass beer stein was used and I put them in the center of the dining room table. 

Edward was so tired from his day. Apparently, it had not gone as smoothly as it had the week before. It didn't bother him that much, it was just stressful. That was anyone's work day though. 

I made him a large plate of pappardelle pasta in a creamy parmesan sauce and a nice salad. He had never eaten anything like it before, praising me repeatedly. “And, you used a wine bottle to make the pasta itself?”

“Yeah. I used to make pasta for the restaurant I worked for on the daily. I could probably do it in my sleep at this point. But, I have to tell you… You seriously need some things for your kitchen,” I told him as I twisted the long flat noodles around my fork.

“Do you want to make a video about it?” Edward asked curiously. 

“What do you mean? Just listing off stuff you need in the kitchen or just me buying shit for your kitchen?” I questioned jokingly. 

“Both, I guess. Kind of. I don’t know. You know what a person needs for a good kitchen. You used to cook professionally for a while. And, if we make it into a video I can write it off as a business expense,” he pointed out. 

I laughed, “that seems a little shady.”

He grinned a little, “not if we keep using them in videos. Both of us...”

“Do you even want to make cooking videos?”

Edward picked apart his bread, putting a little piece into his mouth. “I'm already making food videos. You said yourself it makes sense that I learn. You could teach me. You've already doubled my cooking knowledge this week.”

I laughed quietly and wondered how far from the truth that actually was. Probably not much. “I'm not against it but don't we need to be in the same state for that? You've already got your week planned and I fly home on the second. And, you already have to work on Sunday because of all the rain.”

“It's just one place for a watch. It’ll be very short. We could do it after,” he said hopefully.

“The kitchen supply store or Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or whatever, ain't gonna let Seth and Tyler run around with cameras and a boom mic inside,” I pointed out. “Not with such short notice.”

“Oh, well. Perhaps. We don't have to film the shopping, just the end results. All the things and why and what they do. Or, we'll just use our phones. But, either way, it'll be Eddie's first fully decked out adult kitchen. And when you come to visit again we can do some cooking videos together. If you want to. It's up to you.”

“Are you sure you want me in so many of your videos?” I asked. I was worried if we didn't work out. He was going to have months of videos with me in them if he wasn't careful. 

Edward pretended to think about it for a minute. “You are beautiful and well spoken. Funny as hell. I absolutely do. You know, I posted a video with you this morning and it already has five million views. The second part of the Japanese stuff. The sodas. It might be the fastest ever for a food one. And the comments are almost all nice. There was a percentage of thirsty ones, too,” he made a little face at the last sentence. “But, it’s the internet.”

“The first already had ten million though,” I replied. “I don't think it's me.”

“It's up to twenty-two million views, actually. Last time I checked this morning. And the one from the jump has doubled its views from just yesterday. By the way, I moved your pay from one hundred to one thousand. I can change it again if it's a problem,” Edward said in passing. He was so nonchalant about money.

“How much are you actually giving me?” I questioned him. 

“I'm not giving it to you,” he began to say. “You earned it. You did work. Mostly tolerating my buffoonery...” I gave him a look and he sighed, realizing I actually wanted to know. “Four percent of all the ad revenue and sponsorship, if it implies. Like the jump gets way more because it's sponsored. Way way more. It’s the most I’ve made from a single video already by a whole lot.”

“None of that was work,” I argued with Edward. “I can't imagine what you're getting for each video. Do you do the same with Seth and Tyler? Give them a percentage?”

“They get double that for each one they do. They seem really happy about it,” he told me with a little smirk. 

“That's because they're getting paid thousands for twenty hours of work a week. Tops,” I laughed. 

“They work on their own stuff, too.”

I chewed on my thumb as I considered my next words very carefully. “Would you promise to let me know if you ever feel like I'm using you? Because, I don't ever intend to but, I just... I don't want to take advantage and you've already given me so much. I don't ever want to exploit your generosity. It would be okay if you gave me less. I haven’t done much of anything.”

“You can use me a little bit,” he winked at me. I smirked and rolled my eyes. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my knuckles gently before getting more serious. “You're not. But, I promise to tell you if I ever feel that way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen-

 

I was awoken that morning by my cell phone ringing at seven something. I couldn't see the numbers exactly. Edward would be filming the next few days but that wasn't until later in the afternoon. I groped at the phone, bringing it to my ear blindly. 

“Yeah?”

“Did I wake you?” Demetri asked loudly into the phone. I pulled it away from my ear.

“Yes,” I mumbled. 

“Bitch, on a weekday? It's almost lunchtime.”

“Well, in LA it's fucking early, bitch,” I snapped back. Edward made a curious face, all scrunched up and sleepy. Worried, but still barely able to open his eyes.

“Oh, you're in LA? I thought that was last week.”

“I'm on a vacation,” I explained to my friend. I could hear the subway intercom in the background.

“Why didn't you tell me! I'm so jealous! I was going to ask you to lunch since I'm in Queens today for a doctor's appointment.”

“You should take Al to arepas since I won't be there two Fridays in a row,” I told him. “It's her favorite right now.” We went out for dinner together almost every Friday night since we were in high school. It was a tradition. 

“Oh, that sounds good. That place by the office has the best pulled pork ones. With plantains and some black beans. Yas. I'll ask her. So, is it sunny? What have you been doing? Drinking? Laying in the sand?” He asked me excitedly.

“It's late October. It's a bit cold for that. There was a big storm Monday and Tuesday and rained a little Thursday but other than that it's been great weather. I've actually just been laying in bed with a sexy man,” I said, almost as if I was bored.

I felt Edward smile against my shoulder before kissing it lightly. 

“Oh, and what does he look like?” Demetri thought I was full of shit. Usually, because I was. 

I smiled to myself. “Six five, two hundred pounds maybe, muscular. Broad shoulders and chest. Nice ass. The sharpest jaw you've ever seen. High cheekbones. Reddish hair, especially in the light. Gorgeous green eyes. Pale like he's not seen the sun... ever.”

He buried his face in my back, snickering as he did. I could feel the heat from his cheeks. It was hard not to giggle and squirm.

“What book you reading?” He asked. “I'm going to have to borrow that. Sounds hot.”

I pulled back the phone and put it on speaker. I whispered to Edward, “say hello.”

“Hello,” he said brightly, his chin on my shoulder. Demetri shrieked. “Oh, god,” Edward laughed. 

“Girl, I thought you were talking about one of those vampire books Rosalie likes. What is your name, sugar?” Demetri asked excitedly. 

“My name is Eddie. Nice to meet you,” he replied politely.

Demetri gasped. “Wait. What? Wait! No! No, no, and no. Are you banging that homeboy you were supposed to take pictures of? The one you made me watch videos of the other day?” Dramatic bitch. 

“I didn't make you watch them, asshole. I showed you. You clicked next for two hours, not me. And, I waited to 'bang' him until after I took the pictures,” I said with as much dignity as I could muster. “Like the next day and everything.” 

“Bells. honey, I need you to give yourself a high five for me,” Demetri said very seriously. “Just imagine I am high fiving you so hard. Right now. Do it. Do it for me.”

“That's what she said,” I taunted him. 

“Do it!” He shouted. 

“Oh, I'll help,” Edward gave me an awkward high five. I giggled and almost dropped the phone. “Fuck, that wasn't very good.” He tried again after adjusting the angle. This time it was loud enough to make a clap. 

“Oh, my god. He's so cute. Are you going to keep him?”

“He's not a lost puppy,” I laughed. “He's coming to Thanksgiving.”

“Yay! I love it. I can't wait. I am so ready for your food. I was going to wear my fat pants but now I'm going to have to be looking sexy if you're coming, handsome.”

“You're a married man. Wear your damn fat pants,” I sassed.

“Think they have sexy fat pants?” He questioned. 

“You still got some Juicy in your closet?” I asked.

Demetri laughed, “heavens, no.”

“Well, I guess yoga pants are the new comfy fat pants and I've definitely seen some fine looking women in yoga pants,” I pointed out to him. “But I mean, I might just like women’s asses in general,” I joked. 

“It's because that shit is a wonder bra for your ass. I want to be buried in yoga pants so I can be comfortable forever.”

I rolled my eyes a little. “With a pair of Uggs, a pumpkin spice latte, some crystals, and a bottle chardonnay.”

“I feel personally attacked,” he joked dryly. 

I yawned and stretched, “it's because you are a basic bitch. Bitches feel attacked about basically everything. They are sensitive as fuck.”

“Boo, you whore,” he said mockingly.

“What you going to do? Ask to speak to my manager?” I taunted him further. 

“Yes! I'm going to call Alice. Tell her you're a heartless skank hoe.”

I shook my head slightly. “Alright, well. She already knows. Tell her that I love her and miss her.”

“Okay, baby! I will. Have a good time and take lots of pretty pictures. Love you!” He said sweetly.

“Love you, too.” I told him before quickly adding, ”try the new mini cheese and chicken empanadas. They're so good. With that creamy green sauce. Whatever the fuck it is. The stuff on the table.”

“Sounds perfect! Call me when you get back into town! We'll talk about the show then. Bye!” Demetri said before he hung up. 

“That was interesting,” Edward laughed as he brushed my hair away from my cheek. 

“That's Demetri. He's the former makeup artist I was telling you about. He runs a sweet little vintage theater in Brooklyn now. That's where the show is. He's a doll. I've been friends with him for over a decade now. He used to be my dance partner before he got hurt. He broke his back. His husband is the most angelical person ever, being able to put up with his dramatic ass all the time. You'd love them.”

“I can't wait to meet all of your friends,” he told me as he lightly kissed my cheek. 

Since we were awake we decided to work out together again. I very much enjoyed watching him shirtless and sweating. It was the best way to spend thirty minutes on an elliptical. We made out after in the shower, hot and slow under the pounding water. I wasn't the only one that enjoyed working out together. 

That day was a review of a breakfast restaurant and another one of those challenge videos. This time it wasn't spicy. It was a crazy five-pound hot dog topped with chili, cheese, and french fries. I declined to be a part of the challenge. I would order myself something spicy but I didn't want that kind of hurt. I was happy to be in the breakfast video though. They were supposed to film there on Tuesday, spreading their food out some, but it didn't work out that way. 

Since I wasn't going to have to make us breakfast, I took the time to do my hair and makeup again. Edward finished getting ready before me, my hair still up in a towel to soak up some of the extra water before I tried to style it. He kissed my ear, where there was no makeup. 

“I don't think it smells like a brownie. I think it smells a bit like a biscuit though. Shortbread,” he took a long sniff, making me giggle. 

“That's because it's a sugar cookie one. It's one of the Christmas ones you got me. The other is gingerbread,” I opened the eyeshadow palette and he sniffed it quickly. 

“I kind of want to lick it.”

“It tastes sweet, apparently,” I told him, putting it away before he could get any ideas. 

“And it looks like a chocolate bar. I bet so many kids have eaten it,” he chuckled to himself. “I hope it's non-toxic.”

“I would think so but I don't think you want to be snacking on it,” I smirked slightly. 

“Speaking of snacking, I'm going to make some coffee. Would you like some?” He offered. 

“Yes, please.”

I did my hair so it was straight again and wore a comfortable blue jean skirt and my busy rainbow shirt, just in case I dropped breakfast on myself. I also stuffed an extra into my camera bag. Edward brought me a travel mug of coffee made up just the way I liked it. 

“Hey, your face! I like it!” Seth made a circle motion at his own face as a way of greeting instead of hello. “You did new fancy things.”

“It's called makeup,” Tyler said to him calmly. “You do look very nice. My girlfriend loves that thing with the eyeliner. But she gets mad every time she does it. What is it? Cat eyes?”

“Yeah,” I nodded my head, “it's super hard. It took a couple tries to get it right.”

“I've seen her cry over it. She's thrown things. It's a mess.”

I laughed despite myself. I understood. “I've cried too, but usually just because I've stabbed myself in the eye.”

“I've seen her do that, too” Tyler nodded thoughtfully. Edward just looked confused by the whole exchange. He shook his head and went to the car. 

The breakfast place wasn't just a breakfast restaurant I learned. They were a Hawaiian soul food restaurant with a breakfast menu that had all-you-can-eat pancakes and drinks, and all-you-can-eat chicken but only on Sundays. It was busy since it was a Friday right at lunchtime. The whole place smelled amazing. It was the weirdest combination of sweet, savory, and a little smokey. 

I took pictures while Edward spoke to the owner and Seth and Tyler set up. We would be taking turns trying foods in the corner of the restaurant reserved just for us. Edward was getting a lot of curious looks from the crowd, unsurprisingly. 

“Bella, this is Kai. He's the owner and he'll be hooking us up today,” Edward introduced us. He shook my hand.

“Hi. This is so exciting. I've not had Hawaiian before. Unless you count spam and rice,” I joked.

“I don't know. That's pretty Hawaiian,” he teased back with a big happy smile. His eyes were almost black but they were very warm. “Especially if you add a little egg. I eat that a lot for breakfast.”

“Spam is... isn't it that slimy meat in a can?” Edward asked in confusion. “Is that a thing in Hawaii?”

“Hawaii doesn't have a lot of room for animals for meat so fresh meat is expensive. Canned meat provides a cheaper alternative. It's got a following in Japan for the same reason,” I explained to Edward like a nerd. I realized that Seth was filming me. “It's also good if you poor white trash in Texas. Fry it up in some butter,” I thickened my accent as I spoke directly into the camera. “Melt some cheese on top. Fry up an egg and put it on some fluffy ass white bread. Eat that with some Pringles. I'll tell you what... It's better than going to bed hungry.”

“I'll tell you what,” Seth copied in a fake southern accent and laughed. 

“Wah Uh T,” I sounded the accent out. “You got to say that W sounds really long. Uh. Hard T. What?” I said it again in the accent. 

Tyler started doing a Foghorn Leghorn impersonation, making both Kai and Edward crack up. 

“I feel personally attacked right now,” I said in a Georgia peach accent, using Demetri's joke from earlier. And then I started doing my own Foghorn impression. “Well, I do say, I do say that you sir if you don't quit a talkin' so much your tongue is libel to get sunburnt.”

Tyler clutched his shirt dramatically, making me laugh at his fake offense. 

We spent the afternoon day drinking and laughing as we sampled pancakes with guava, and their special fried chicken, bloody Mary's, and Mimosas. We tried about a dozen dishes. I had new meals I was going to try to make at home. I was extremely excited. 

Thankfully we didn't have to go to the hot dog place directly after. We had a couple hours in between so we went to the beach so Seth and Tyler could get some more transition shots. It was always a fun place to film. Edward and I sat on a bench and people watched. 

“I should take you out and not just for work,” Edward said suddenly, almost worried. 

I rubbed his thigh gently. “You didn't know I was going to be here this week. You couldn't bend your work or the weather to your will. It's okay, though. I've really enjoyed having you to myself at home.”

“Wouldn't you like to go dancing or something?” He asked softly.

I shrugged. “Sure, when we get the chance again. We went just last week.”

“That was for work...” He trailed off. “I wanted you so badly on that rooftop. I wanted to just grab and kiss you. I was actually trying not to cry,” he admitted with a sigh. I don’t think he was entirely comfortable telling me. 

“Oh sweetheart,” I said softly, touching his hand that was resting on his lap. 

“Not very manly, I know,” he said with a little scoff. 

I scoffed myself at the very idea. “Depends on what you consider manly. I don't see how a man who doesn't know his own emotions is much of a man at all.”

“You said you weren't much of a crier,” he pointed out. 

I felt a little frustrated. “Just because I don't cry easily doesn't mean I don't feel and understand the emotions. I just have a harder time releasing those emotions outwardly. That's a fault, not a positive. It's not a sign of strength. Boys don't cry. Big girls don't cry. It's all outdated and part of the reason people used to not live to forty. You can't hold it in. So, get that toxic masculinity idea out of your head because it's just another lie your anxiety can hold on to.”

We were quiet after that for a little while. 

“I hope I didn't upset you,” I finally said. 

He bit his bottom lip before glancing over at me. “No. Not at all. I'm just... overwhelmed? I guess. I don't know. You're so much more mature than me and sometimes I really feel it. It's not a bad thing, on your side. Maybe on mine.”

“You are far more put together than most adults your age,” I told him truthfully. “It's not fair to compare us in that sense. And, I sleep on a couch most the time in footie Pikachu pajamas. You've known me a week, baby. I am a tall child masquerading as a short adult.”

“Almost two weeks,” he interrupted. “Aw, footie pajamas? Really?”

“I have a whole collection of them sent by Mrs. Brandon,” I admitted with a little laugh in my voice. So did Alice. Usually three sizes too bad because that’s how we liked them. “New York is cold and I have no one to keep me warm. I'm kind of in love with them.”

“I'll keep you warm,” he offered up seductively. 

“You going to come to Queens and snuggle up in my twin size bed, under three blankets, because it's zero outside?” I asked him. “The couch is big enough for the two of us.”

“Or,” he began, holding a finger up, “or, I could keep you warm by flying you to sunny Los Angeles during the long cold New York winters.”

“But, I love the winters. I wouldn't get to see snow,” I pouted a little.

He didn't fully expect that answer. “Well... I could keep you warm by getting a nice room with a good heater and a king-sized bed. And we can snuggle up under as many blankets as you like.”

“The bed size is the bigger problem?” I questioned curiously.

“I'm too big for a twin bed,” Edward stated simply. 

“I can see that,” I smirked at him. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. I laid my head on his shoulder. 

He rested his head lightly against mine. “Maybe we should try to get a weekend away somewhere cold and snowy this winter. Since you love snow so much. Spend a couple days in a cabin with a roaring fire, in the mountains maybe.”

“That sounds so romantic,” I said wistfully. “Where do you think? Maine or somewhere in Poconos? Colorado would be so lovely.”

“I've not gone to Colorado yet. I've been wanting to go to Denver,” he said pensively. “It's something to think about. By the way, I have the ticket for your flight at home. It's next Friday at two. It's a nonstop one and you should arrive back in New York at around eleven. Is that alright? Or, is that too late?”

“No, it's fine. I've gotten in later. I'll still be on LA time and there are always taxis no matter the time,” I assured him. “Thank you.”

He kissed my cheek softly. “It's selfish. I want you to save yours so you can use it to see me whenever you want to.”

“Just drop by anytime, unannounced?” I joked.

Edward smiled widely “Yes, please. I love a good surprise.”

I was a little stunned. He seemed to have everything in his life planned out by the hour. “I wouldn't want to do that to you. You have such a busy schedule.”

“Okay, please,” he scoffed, “I'm not that busy. Besides, I like having you here with me. I’m honestly surprised how…” he trailed off. “It's so easy to interact with you on camera, too. You don't mind these, do you?”

“Not at all. Really,” I promised him with a slight smile. “It's a lot of fun. I get to talk to people with common interests. Eat food I've never had before. I think you're just being kind to me when you praise me about being on camera though.”

“Well, the only way to prove for sure is the view count. I've got plenty of videos with you coming out soon enough. You'll see for yourself. They already love you,” he said confidently.

“You lie.”

“Read the comments,” he chuckled. “Actually, maybe don't. Perverts. Anyway, you add a little diversity to this sausage party.”

I pulled back to look at him. “Wait. Am I the token chick for your boy gang? Am I the Webby to your Huey, Louie, and Dewey?”

Edward laughed, “only since coming to America. I had loads of female friends back home. I'd do videos with my mates Lucy, Kelly, and Melly all the time.”

“It sounds like you made up those name,” I teased him.

“Melly and Kelly are twin sisters,” he explained. It still didn't help. “Her name is Melania, really. But she goes by Melly.” 

“Honestly, it still sounds made up. It sounds like the names you'd make up for fake twins in a Penthouse letter. Dear Penthouse, the greatest thing happened to me today. I met twins with big boobies named Kelly and Melly. They let me play with them!”

“No,” he laughed again and blushed a little. “Okay, well, only Kelly. A little bit. Over the shirt. And that was a drunken pash in college. It was weird. I instantly apologized afterward.”

“Aw,” I laughed at his awkwardness. 

“She's engaged to a mate of mine now. It's nice,” he said in a soft, sweet tone. “They're a good match. I'm happy for them.”

We people watched a little longer until it was finally time to leave.

Seth and Tyler filmed Edward interviewing the owner of the hot dog restaurant named Shorties. He and Tyler would be doing the five-pound challenge while I would be tasting some of their signature shorties, two-bite hot dogs that you could order in a bunch of styles so you could sample more than one. One of the chili's claimed to be the 'world's hottest', so I ordered it. Edward did ask me nicely to consider it but it obviously made him pleased when I made the selection of the four I would try. 

They had an in-house made root beer in specialty flavors like butter pecan and pumpkin spice. I didn't like the pumpkin spice but I really enjoyed the butter pecan and I rarely drank sodas ever. But, I would drink it again if I had the chance. 

I got my small hot dogs first, all in a neat little row. There was mild chili cheese, a Chicago dog, A San Francisco dog all wrapped in bacon, and the world's spicy little chili dog, which came in its own little red cardboard boat. Edward filmed me while Seth and Tyler filmed the kitchen.

He had me try everything and describe how it tasted and what I liked. I would describe the textures of each bite. I saved the spiciest one for last. I used a fork and knife to cut it in half since it was so messy. I put the whole bite in my mouth and instantly tasted nothing but burning. I swallowed quickly, washing it down with the root beer.

“Think I could handle the other bite?” Edward asked from behind the camera. 

I shook my head quickly, “no.” I covered my mouth as my lips and nose seared and sweat formed at my brow. There were so many of the whole seeds in the bite. I didn't taste good. It was just hot for the sake of being hot. “Zero hot dogs out of five. The heat is a gimmick, just have the regular chili dog and enjoy the flavor of something.”

I shoved a bunch of fries dipped in mayo and ketchup to get the taste out of my mouth.

“Hey, Seth, man. You wanna try the spicy hot dog? Bella said it was nothing,” Edward lied to his friend as he came out of the kitchen. 

“Fuck no, I'm not stupid. Her mouth is asbestos,” he told his boss flat out and then flipped him off aggressively when Edward evilly laughed. 

“Oh, okay. I guess you're not man enough to even try,” he grinned meanly.

Seth put his hands on his hips, making a little angry face. “Spice level is not the measure of a man.”

“Okay,” Edward said sarcastically, riling him. 

Seth marched over the table where I was sitting. He reached for the hot dog but I snatched the boat away quickly. 

“No. Don't. He's a lying liar who lies. You'll die.”

“Oh, you see that!” Seth pointed at a smirking and amused Eddie. “She's nicer than you! You're a punk ass bitch.”

“I should have let you eat it,” I told Edward brassily. 

Tyler came over and took the boat without a word. He popped the whole bite in his mouth. He stood chewing for a long time before swallowing. 

“No,” he finally said as he shook his head before taking a big drink of his soda. “Yeah. That was a mistake,” he said calmly.

“Y'all are going to hurt yourselves one day,” I warned them all. “You're going to ruin your stomachs trying to impress each other. Burn a hole like battery acid.”

“Nah,” Edward laughed as he handed off the camera to Seth. “Now, let's eat us a five-pound hot dog.”

He managed it but regretted it. Tyler ate half then switched places with Seth. They had planned it all along, goading Edward into eating quickly. Edward might have had it coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So friendly reminder: This story is a little different. It is a Serial, meaning a continual and ongoing long-running story like you might see on a soap opera or telenovela on television. And like their storylines, it’s not meant to be entirely realistic and may be overdramatic and exaggerated for fun and effect. The banter is supposed to be witty, not ultra realistic. I intend to continue to update this story three times a week for as long as I can continue making up interesting storylines for these two. 
> 
> I just want to throw that out there every once and a while just in case someone has missed it before.
> 
>  
> 
> Trigger warning for mentions of sexual assault.

Chapter Nineteen-

 

The following day Edward was scheduled to be a surprise guest at a panel at a local video game convention. He, Tyler, and Seth were all going to dress normally and wear these hideous ultra-realistic big headed masks. I refused one. They could be idiots all on their own. 

Besides, no one would know me to spoil the surprise anyway. 

I wore a vintage Star Wars A New Hope poster tee shirt, blue jean skirt, knee socks, and my cute starry converse. I braided my hair into two long fishtails. I had fun with my makeup, wearing a teal green lipstick and neon pink eyeshadow and gold eyeliner. I also wore enough pale purple highlighter on my cheekbones to be a disco ball. The silver hoops in my ears finished my outfit, the biggest nearly touching my shoulder. I looked like a better endowed sixteen-year-old version of me. 

The place was massive and filled with vendors. We arrived three hours early just so Edward could walk around beforehand in disguise. 

Edward and I walked hand in hand while Seth and Tyler filmed the convention floor for the channel content. A few people stopped Eddie to take a picture with him because of his cool mask. He was more than happy to pose. He was also more than happy to shop like a madman. I felt bad for the poor security guards following him around during. They seemed nice enough. They worked for his management company and worked with loads of different celebrities. It wasn't the first time they helped carry the bags, sadly. They stayed fairly far back so as not to draw attention to Edward. 

He bought a couple of dozen mystery grab bags from various tables in a variety of sizes. Those were to be opened for videos. Though, I think he just liked them. He bought shirts, underwear, toys, mugs, comic books, books, art, and games. Edward was obviously enjoying himself.

I browsed through a table of steampunk jewelry and clothes while he continued to browse a table of cool backpacks beside me. He was looking for a messenger bag for himself. 

“Hey! I know you!” The woman behind the table said to me. She was a petite, young, pretty latina girl who was covered in tattoos and piercings. She wore a nice steampunk dress and a tight corset, shoving her chest up high. I was guessing she was maybe Edward’s age. She was actually very attractive. “You’re a friend of Eddie’s! You were on a video today.”

Edward's head spun comically fast towards me, making the mask continue to spin almost backward. I burst into laughter, covering the mask's eyes so they couldn't look at me.

“I am,” I admitted, still giggling. He fixed his mask, me still far too amused.

She was so excited. “I really liked the one from today! I watched it at breakfast.”

I hadn't even opened my laptop that day. “Oh, which one? I've not seen yet. We filmed a bunch actually.”

“The one at the tattoo shop!” She was quick to reply. 

“Oh! Yeah, that was so much fun,” I smiled, touching the spot where my tattoo was irritating me sub-consciously just because she mentioned it. 

“I loved your tattoo! It's making me think about my next ink,” she showed me her tattoo-covered arms, rubbing a hand over them lovingly. They were almost full. 

“Wow! Thank you! Yours are great, too! I really love my new one so much. It's a little itchy right now because it's real scabby though,” I confessed. “So, I did okay? He said I did well, but I think he was just trying to be nice to me.”

She was more than happy to give me her opinion. “Girl, I loved it. I'm glad you made a bunch with him. He needs to get some more women and especially people who aren’t so... white. He's gotten Seth and you this year but most of his friends are white as fuck. He used to at least have girls in them but it's been a while. Everyone seems so nice, but it would be nice to see a little diversity.”

I glanced over at him but she didn’t notice. “I think that would be a great idea. He always likes filming with new people. It’s something we’ve actually somewhat talked about. He moved this year so that probably has something to do with it. He's still trying to find people here. He’s shyer than you’d expect.”

Edward was standing right beside me as I held this conversation with this woman who clearly didn't not, somehow, figure out who Edward was and that he was right before her. I have no idea how. 

“I actually ordered one of your pictures. From your website. It's a poster of like some green abstract looking piping.” I was actually taken aback. I had never met someone in the wild who bought something I made. Besides Edward.

“With the subway sign beside it? I know which one you're talking about. With the weird pipes and the mosaic old wall. That's awesome! It's one of my favorite. That green so good in that picture. That one and this fallout sign are my favorites,” I overshared, practically gushing with pride. 

“Oh, my god! The one that is at night with the sign above the open door with the yellow light? That one is next when I get paid again! I'm getting them framed, too. My roommate loves them as much as I do,” she was just as happy to gush with me. “They are so awesome!”

“Aw! You're going to make me cry! Thank you so much!” I laughed a little self consciously, “I see that sign almost every day. That's actually the back way into my apartment.”

“So, is Eddie like he is in the videos?” She asked in a sort of whisper. “I mean, he seems really nice.”

I smiled to myself, “he's lovely. Always fun to be around. Very kind and always a gentleman.”

“So, are you done taking pictures of him? On his Twitter, he talked about you coming over to take pictures last week.”

She knew more than I did. I didn't realize he even had a twitter. 

“Yeah, I'm done taking them for the magazine. I'm here on vacation now with my boyfriend,” I pointed to the big head. 

“Hi,” the girl smiled brightly to Edward and waved. “A con is such a great thing to do on a vacation. Will you be working with Eddie again to make more videos?”

“Yup, I think so. He offered me a job taking pictures for him, actually. It's pretty good pay. Great benefits. I'm considering taking it,” Edward squeezed my hand beside me. I smiled a little to myself as we spoke about him like he wasn't there again. I was having way too much fun with him being silent. 

She clapped her hands together. “Oh, yes! Please do it! Don't you live in New York, though?”

“Yeah, but I don't mind flying back and forth for a while,” I explained. “Flights out of New York are always cheap.”

“Right. Same with L.A. By the way, I love your makeup so much. Do you do tutorials?” She asked. She was giving me such an ego boost. “Like on YouTube? Do you have your own channel?”

“Um, no, I don’t. I've not watched a bunch of tutorials either, to be honest,” I told her truthfully. “Only a few in passing.”

“Then how did you learn to do it so well?”

“Oh…. One of my best friend's is a makeup artist,” I explained. “He worked on Broadway for ages and now he's running his own little theater. He used to practice on me and my two other best friends. He'd give a Ted talk during makeup practice about makeup before Ted talks were Ted talks if you know what I mean?” I over explained my life, happy and talking too much to the lovely girl in the booth. “He should do tutorials. He taught me everything.”

I bought a couple of pieces of jewelry and a dress because I felt guilty for talking to her for so long. I couldn't not buy anything, especially since she had bought stuff from me. Artists needed to support artists, I explained to Edward as we made our way to the backstage of the panel. 

The crowd cheered wildly when Eddie came on stage. There were a literal thousand people in the cramped sweaty room. It was interesting to see him like that in front of people. He was a good performer. He owned the room easily, controlling the mood and flow. It was like he switched on like a light. 

I watched as Edward spoke and interacted with his fans for an hour, patiently answering questions. After that, he had to sit for an hour and sign autographs. I sat behind him at the booth, listening to him chat pleasantly with everyone as they came by. I took pictures with my extremely long range lens from my seat, having a blast taking photos of all the costumes and people while no one noticed or cared about me. 

It was nearly seven when we finally got out of the convention. The boys decided they wanted to have Zankou's chicken for dinner back at Edward's house. They ordered two whole chickens, a ton of pita bread, and one of every side they had, and a large extra helping of the garlic sauce they were most known for locally. 

I helped set the food up around the table while Edward got everyone a beer. 

“You know, it's taking everything I have not to tell you about the Zankou's chicken murders,” I joked a little too honestly to the boys as I took my seat. 

“Isn't that such an interesting story!” Seth said excitedly. “Everything about it is so wild. Cancer. The bad sons. The white suit.”

“This is why you're single,” Tyler said sarcastically to Seth. “No one knows what you’re saying.”

“Hey! No! I do! And, true crime has been a thing for centuries,” I defended him. “It's usually just that women are more into it. But, I think it’s cool that he likes it.”

“I wonder why it’s more of a lady’s hobby,” Edward mused as he made his plate. 

Edward didn’t realize his mistake in giving such an opening. My mouth started running right away. 

“That's easy. Women are more likely to suffer a violent attack in their lifetime. One in two women is sexually assaulted. One in four will be abused by their partner. The number one cause of death for a pregnant woman is homicide, usually by the baby's father. And nine out of ten murders are committed by someone the victim knows. A spouse, a parent, a family member usually. Women start dealing with violence at a very young age. You have to learn about it, just to protect yourself if anything else. Then it just becomes a morbid hobby after a while.”

Edward was thoughtful and a little concerned. “Do you really think one in two women is sexually assaulted? I think I can say with a fair amount of certainty no man at this table has ever done that. It just seems so high.”

Alice and I had discussed this topic on many occasions. It was something I could have ranted about for hours. “Not only do I think that number is low, but I would also say the number is closer to seventy percent. Probably higher, honestly. Sexual assault is such a broad term and every woman has been groped and has not reported it to anyone. But we've been taught that we've done everything wrong. My skirt is too short, my shirt too tight, I had a drink. I walked alone. You can't rape your wife. Every woman might not have been raped, but every woman has been forced into a corner, groped, or had gross threatening things said or done to them. They have been made embarrassed or catcalled for simply being a woman, at the very least. I mean... I was dragged behind a dumpster when I was like seventeen and was assaulted. He didn't rape me, but he was planning to. He was on probation for raping two young girls about six years before. He had been out for three months. Can you imagine? It's people like him who probably raped dozens, if not hundreds, of women before they get caught that make the world unsafe for women.”

Sometimes my baggage just came rolling out without my permission, popping open for everyone to see. I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. I poked at my chicken with my fork sharply. It was one of those things I tried really hard not to think about but sometimes it was just there. Bloody and terrible. I felt my cheeks heat.

“I'm so sorry,” Edward rubbed my back softly. “I'm sorry you went through that.”

“It's alright. It was worse for him,” I told him quietly as I remembered it. It was just another thing in a long list of stuff I went to therapy for in the past. 

“How is that even possible?” Tyler asked, concern ringing in his voice. I had Tyler and Seth's full attention as well I realized. 

“Uh,” I chewed on the edge of my thumb for a second. “Well... I used to carry around my granddaddy's knife, on my belt, you know. From a really young age, too. Because, of course, Texas. Pretty little thing with mother of pearl in the handle. Maybe three inches long. It was handy for opening things and such. Anyway... He, the guy, um... lost an eye and a testicle. I scarred his face up pretty good, too, though I don't remember too much of what exactly happened. I slashed a lot, I guess? I kind of blacked out. I tend to do that if I get too stressed out. It’s a problem.”

“Holy fuck!” Seth gasped. Tyler's face drained of color and his eyes grew wide. “You don’t remember what happened at all?”

“I know the basics of what happened,” I explained to them quickly. “Obviously. He pinned me to the wall with my arms behind my back and he tried to pull up my skirt,” I looked down at the blue jean skirt I was wearing. I could feel panic tickling at the back of my throat but I swallowed it back. “The knife practically fell into my hands. I do remember that. How it felt slippery and sharp. I cut my palm. I have a little scar. He had exposed himself and I frantically swiped low to get that away from me. He kind of lunged for me and I must have panicked because I stabbed him in the eye or face. My flight or fight instinct is heavily weighted towards fight. Anyway, he ran one way and I went the other. I was covered in so much of his blood,” I could practically still see it as it dried brown under my nails. “And my own. He went to the hospital, unsurprisingly, and they arrested him in the emergency room not long after,” I explained as I had told the story a dozen times before. I wasn’t ashamed to tell it, it was just dark. “Luckily there wasn't a trial or anything I had to suffer through. They just revoked his probation and tacked on another twenty years with no possibility of early release this time.”

“Crispy Christ on a fucking cracker, Bella! Fight or flight? How about shank a bitch?” Seth said loudly, making me laugh. It gave me instant relief. I was so grateful. He smiled at me. “Don't piss you off, huh?”

“I may be short, but you know who else was short? Bruce Lee. I'll fuck someone up. I'm scrappy,” I said very sarcastically. “I don't carry that knife around anymore though. Now I have a leatherman tool, like a Swiss army knife. It was Aiden's. It has a couple of knives in it, but that's more for handy reasons. New Yorkers frown upon open weapon carrying. In Texas, it's fashionable.”

Both Tyler and Edward were very quiet while Seth and I chatted. “Sorry, I didn't mean to make dinner conversation dark,” I apologized to Edward while I rubbed his thigh under the table. “Well, this dark.”

“It's alright,” he murmured, a bit salty. “I just kind of want to kill that pile of shit that hurt you and other poor women.”

“Oh, no. Don't do that,” I told him very seriously. “He's got another twenty years probably in prison and killing him would bring him respite from the hellscape that is the US prison system. In Texas no less. I want him to be in perfect health so he can sit alone every night in a cell with no air conditioning with his one eye and his one ball and remember that he is sitting there because of a tiny little girl who wasn't scared of him and his sad excuse of a micropenis.”

Tyler laughed a little uncomfortably, “now that's nightmare fuel. A one-eyed, one testiculed, pedophile sitting in the dark, in prison, thinking about the one that got away.”

“I'm sure that's a horror movie already. Like every sequel,” I told him before shrugging, “Not the ball part. That’s all me.”

“Can you imagine a knife being out while your pants are even down? Let alone anywhere close to it?” Seth said in a pained face. “Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Fucker deserved a Bobbit,” he muttered.

“Do you like horror movies?” Tyler asked a bit loudly, changing the subject for everyone's sake. “You enjoy true crime. Seems in the same genre.”

“They're fine, I guess. It depends on the movie. I've only really watched a handful in the past few years. I'm not a big movie person in general,” I explained.

“Yet, you're dating an actor,” Seth sassed. 

“I just don't enjoy the movie-going experience. I'd rather watch at home and Blockbuster is gone so I miss a lot of stuff. My roommate has all the streaming services so I catch more now than I did. But, I’m super behind pop culture, sadly.”

“What don't you like about it?” Edward asked. “Going to the movies?”

“It's expensive. They're dirty. You can't talk during them, or knit, or play on your phone. Or pet your cat. Out of every ten films made one is good, two are decent. And the rest are boring at best and hot offensive garbage at worse. I can't pause to pee. You can't drink cheap wine straight out of the bottle,” I said sarcastically. “I think I could go on but you get the point.”

“Fair enough,” Tyler smiled. “I'm with you. I'd rather watch at home, too. Miss Blockbuster so much.”

“I've only been to the movies once since I've moved,” Edward admitted. “I don't want to go alone.”

“When we went to see Infinity War,” Seth said thoughtfully.

“Stupid movie,” Edward mumbled under the breath. Seth opened his mouth to begin to argue but Eddie put his hand up. “No, we're not arguing about this again. You won't change my mind. Terrible, long, boring, and stupid. A waste of great characters. I could have written a better script in my sleep. Don’t at me with your shit.”

“And, too much CGI,” I agreed with him. “I saw it at a volunteering event. Black Panther was pretty good, though. I just want a movie with the sister and general though and their pet rhino. Sciencing shit up.”

“I'd watch the fuck outta that,” Edward said as he finished his beer. I could tell he was a little warm from it, making his cheeks a soft pink. 

“They'll have to figure out that black people AND women love good strong female characters, no matter the color, as long as she is well developed and well written. Both groups are so starved for entertainment they'd go see it no matter what. Same with Asian and gay audiences,” I sighed, “but that won't happen anytime soon. Because fuck us, I guess. Why would we want an interesting movie? Good luck if you’re a gay mixed raced kid. No representation for you.”

“It's a shame,” Seth agreed. “Maybe one day.”

“You'd get along really well with my girlfriend,” Tyler said pleasantly. “I think you have some things in common. You'd agree with her on a lot of things, especially in the entertainment industry. Are you going to be in town on Halloween?” He asked. 

“I fly out on the Friday after.”

“You and Eddie should come over to my place for Halloween. We're going to grill out and watch movies, drink, pass out candy. Karaoke. Seth is coming. Some more of my friends and my girlfriend's friends, too. If you don't have any plans?” Tyler asked me. 

I looked over at Edward. “We haven't talked about Halloween yet. You wanted to go out.”

“I hadn't thought about it yet,” he admitted. “I'm always down for eating but it's up to you, love.”

“I meant to invite you sooner,” Tyler said to Edward, “But, I figured you probably had better plans. Some swanky ass Hollywood party.”

“Ah no, mate. I'm barely leaving the house these days,” he replied. 

I smiled and Edward grinned in returned. I looked back to Tyler. “It sounds good to me. Is it like a costume thing?”

“It's not required but encouraged. My girlfriend is dressing up. So am I.”

“I am, too,” Seth chimed in. “It’s a surprise. It’s going to be awesome.” 

I nodded. “Should we bring something? Food or whatever?”

“You could bring like a side and a dessert. Or, a bunch of beer. I mean, it's up to you,” he explained. “Anything would be great.”

“I can make something really good,” I smiled brightly at him. 

“What should I bring?” Seth asked, suddenly a little panicked. “I didn't realize I needed to bring shit.”

Tyler pursed his lips out as he thought about it. “Grab like a couple of bags of chips or cookies. Or, beer. You know, the staples. We're making hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, and chicken. A bunch of veggies. Salad. Baked potatoes. Rice. My girl's a vegan for health reason,” he explained to me. “She's got a very sensitive tummy. So, we'll have a big spread for everyone.”

“You could get her some Oreos, then. They're vegan,” I mused. 

“Are there any Oreo murders?” Edward asked a bit sarcastically. 

“No, I don't think so. But, I'm still dying to tell you about the Zankou's one,” I laughed awkwardly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look up the murder. It’s real. It’s really crazy, too. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter twenty-

 

Edward had to work on editing that night once Tyler and Seth were gone. We worked separately and silently in his office until early in the morning. Once we got to bed he seemed restless, unable to relax or get comfortable. I stroked his scalp to try to soothe him, running my fingers through his thick hair. 

“It makes me very upset that so much has happened to you,” he suddenly blurted out into the darkness of his bedroom.

“So much happens to everyone,” I told him to calm his worry. Not that it would really help. “I'm fine. I'm worried I have too much baggage for you, to be honest, though. I didn’t mean to throw that out there tonight. I didn’t mean to overshare.”

He was so quick to reply, “it's not your fault. None of that is your fault.”

“I didn't say it was,” I pointed out. “Doesn’t mean I want to throw it out there.”

“Is it normal to be this angry at someone you don't even know?” Edward asked into my hair, his warm breath heating my skin. “Someone I didn't even know existed until hours before?”

I brought my hand down from his scalp, tracing my fingers along his jaw until I lightly touched his neck. 

“Hm, it's not that unusual. You don't need to be angry for my sake though. I can do that very well all on my own.”

“I want to protect you,” Edward said fiercely

“That's sweet. And I'm sure you are very capable of protecting me from certain things. But you can't protect anyone constantly against everything though.”

Edward sighed, “I know.” Gingerly his fingers ran along my arm. “You seem delicate but you're not at all, Bella. I was mugged once and I just cried instantly and handed over my wallet. To be fair, I was sloshed and like nineteen.”

“Oh no,” I laughed despite myself. 

“He didn't even threaten me. 'Oi, mate, I'll be needing your wallet.' Said 'cheers' and ran off. He gave my phone back because it was shit, too. It was downright depressing.”

I laughed again, my hand on my chest as I did. “No way.”

“I had a hand me down cell from my sister at the time. It was one of those flippy types. Real thin and fucking hot pink. I was terrible with phones, so I got what I got. The screen was cracked. This is when I was still living off my parents pretty much. I called my mum sobbing and still drunk. Mum, he didn’t want my phone!”

“I bet that was a fun night,” I mused softly.

“Talk about a hangover. Damn,” he chuckled.

I laid my head on his bare chest and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “I don't know how much protection I can be, but I would shank someone for you. If I had to.”

“Aw, how romantic,” Edward said with a sleepy chuckle. 

We woke up around eleven. It wasn't enough sleep. 

The video he was filming that day had to do with handmade watches. I declined to be in it, instead I settled myself in one of the chairs they had scattered around the watchmaker's and started writing a list of things Edward would need for an ideal kitchen. I wasn't interested in twenty thousand dollar watches but it was certainly possible for me to spend that much on a kitchen. 

One of the sales girls brought me coffee when she saw me struggling to stay awake. It was a vanilla cappuccino which was good. Very sweet with lots of foam. It came with a small rock candy sugar stick to stir it with to make it sweeter if I so wished. I ended up just eating it. 

I found a restaurant supply store that was close to a Target and a Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I figured we could get everything we needed from those three stores the easiest. I didn't feel like going all over creation for the video. It would probably also be the cheapest at those places anyway. 

We had to be sneaky to film this time. All three guys were using their phones in the shops. They didn't have permission to be filming in the big corporate stores. They were going to get themselves in trouble. They were having too much fun.

“How decked out do you want this kitchen?” I asked the phone camera in Edward's hand before going into the store. 

“I want it fully loaded, baby,” Eddie replied in his acting voice. 

“It could be in the thousands,” I warned him. 

“That's fine. I need it. It's an investment in future videos. Get it all and get the best,” he insisted. “I trust you.”

“Alright,” I drew out, still unsure. “Keep the receipts.” 

I needed two carts to get all the things I picked up from the restaurant supply store. I bought every sort of pot, pan, cookware he could possibly need. Cast iron, enamel coated, baking dishes, cake pans, and baking sheets as well as a pizza stone to put in his oven. I got measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls, and the most expensive set of knives I had ever personally seen. Edward picked those out himself when he saw me mooning over them. Finally, we got the dishes, cups, and silverware he really needed.

Seth filmed really close to my face with his phone as I squirmed when they rung us up. The high numbers made me seriously uncomfortable, even if I wasn’t buying it. They all enjoyed my obvious pain. By the end, I had my face shoved into Edward's side, who was clearly trying to not act amused as well by my growing discomfort. His arms wrapped around me comfortingly, patting me reassuringly.

“Oh, sweet baby Jesus,” I murmured when they announced the outrageous sum. It made my stomach twist. “That is so much. Are you sure?”

“Yup,” Edward grinned as he paid.

It took thirty minutes for the boys to arrange everything in the car and since we had only gotten part of what he needed, we went back to his house to drop it all off. We ate leftover chicken and pitas from the night before for lunch before heading back out to Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up all the appliances he was going to need. This time we went in two cars, just in case. 

I had gone to the Target so much at that point I recognized one of the cashiers as we came in. She smiled at me as we entered.

Once again I filled up two carts. I also got myself a nice blue sequin dress and a simple devil's horn set for Halloween while there as well. Edward apparently already had costume choices at home. He had cosplayed before many times. I wasn't surprised. He had done all those stupid costume videos before that I had really enjoyed.

We filled both cars trunks and put the big bulky boxes in the backseat of one of them. It took forever to bring everything in. It covered the table, the counters, and most of the floor in the kitchen.

Of course, we took hours and hours to fill the kitchen so we ordered a pizza that night for dinner. We were all exhausted.

The following day was a Monday and Edward had to record at home. Mostly what he was doing was capturing video game play and a couple of unboxing videos. Nothing I could really help him with. So, I decided to remove all the new kitchen toys from their wrappings and wash them. I put them all away neatly. Edward had a cleaning lady that came twice a week but I cleaned the kitchen thoroughly. I put all the boxes inside of each other, compacting them for later use. 

I hauled all the other stuffing and bubble wrap into its proper bins, trash or otherwise, and when I came back Edward was standing in the kitchen. He was surprised at the transformation it had made. The countertops were lined perfectly with a new toaster, a big stand mixer, a blender, a food processor and a whole host of other gadgets. The pots and pans were nicely arranged on the exposed shelves above his stove. He even had a nice new shiny bread box. The kitchen looked like something out of a magazine.

“Wow. Would you look at that? You did that in what... Three hours?” He looked at his watch. “I don't even know what most of it does!” Edward said it with too much enthusiasm.

“I can show you,” I promised him with an amused smile.

“I'm looking forward to it,” he kissed me deeply, suddenly, holding my face in his hands. Gingerly, he rubbed his nose against mine when he pulled away. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. I enjoyed doing it for you.”

“Surely not the cleaning part. Or, the part where I paid,” he teased.

“I meant the shopping, but the cleaning wasn't bad. I listened to a podcast,” I assured him with a big smile.

“Oh, what about?”

“True crime comedy,” I was sure he didn't really want to know all the details. 

He made a confused face. “How is that possible?”

“It's a thing. It's weird. It's hard to explain,” I told him, grasping on the best way to explain my weirdness. “I listen to a few of them. It's basically comedians talking about true crime. It's so niche it hurts.”

“Maybe I'll have a listen someday,” he brushed my hair over my ear.

“It's good for things like road trips when you don't want to fall asleep,” I teased. “I'm listening to a five-part series on Jack the Ripper right now.”

“Oh well, lots of people like Jack the Ripper stories,” Edward replied. “Wasn't he the Queen's doctor or something?” He asked as he went to the fridge to get himself a drink. 

“No,” I laughed. “That's a dumb rumor. One of many. It probably wasn't a single person but a couple of people, most likely local because people kill where they live for some stupid reason. Or the neighborhood over. The area was filled with butchers with the ability to do what he did. A Queen's doctor wouldn't go to the worst neighborhood to kill. He could kill the finest quality sex workers if he so pleased. He was rich as fuck after all.”

Edward snorted, “I guess you're right. I don't know a lot about crime. My mum is a retired criminal judge so I think she tried to keep that away from us kids growing up.”

I nodded. It was probably for the best. My grandmother stuffed me with shows about murder. “Also Australia has less of it. Only a few big things, really. I remember seeing all of this terrible stuff all the time on the World News because my grandma watched it every single day.”

“No wonder you like true crime.”

“No,” I laughed again, “I like true crime because she recorded every single Forty-Eight Hours, Law and Order, 20/20, and Unsolved Mysteries and watched them over and over again on VHS. I remember laying on the floor watching the big wooden television set behind my grandma's recliner, in a corner. My little fort. Watch for hours on rainy Saturday afternoons. Or, after mass on Sunday. Then we'd play dominoes and make dinner together.”

“That sounds nice, actually. The dinner and dominoes part. But, a wooden television?” Edward questioned me. 

I felt ancient. “You've never seen a TV from the eighties in the big wooden box with the black chunky knobs that clunked every time you tried to turn to one of maybe ten channels?”

“Oh, I guess. I just didn't think about it like that. I was thinking-” he shook his head. “Nevermind, I'm an idiot. Anyway, I came in here to see if you want to come to play with me.”

“I'm not that easy. I do need a little more foreplay than that,” I said very dryly. Edward smirked at me and without missing a beat slapped my ass. I nodded my head, hiding my own amusement. “That seems fair.”

Edward laughed, “do you want to come to play video games with me for a capture?”

“What are you doing exactly?”

“I'm going into the playground mode of the game I'm trying to make a sponsored video for and doing dumb shit for said video. It's for the battleground mode release for Mega-Annum. I’m making a few videos for it.”

I understood the words but they didn’t mean that much to me. 

“I've never played before,” I told him honestly. I had only heard about the game in passing. I knew it was one of the games that helped him get his start on YouTube. He was really good at it. Really good. 

“That's okay. We're going to be in playground mode like I said and you can learn to do the controls while I piss about,” he promised me. 

“I don't think my laptop could handle the game,” I told him. “It's a few years old.”

“I set my other computer up for you already,” Edward answered quickly, having already thought of that. 

I shrugged at him. “Sure, I guess. I'm not very good at video games, even if I like them. Especially shooters. And, I don't know if I've ever played one like this on a computer. Just consoles.”

“Don't worry about it,” he smiled brightly as he took my hand and walked me towards his office. There was a nice black computer on his large desk where there hadn't been before. “I upgraded right after I moved here but I still have my other as a backup,” Edward explained happily. 

I sat down in the chair that he pulled out for me and put on a set of big headphones to wear he gave me to wear. 

“So, what is the goal of this game exactly?”

“The main part of the game is a battle royale, ninety-nine against one. Last man standing wins. You gather clothes, materials, medicines, weapons or whatever to help you survive as long as possible. There is a barrier that pushes in to bring the players closer together until it closes completely. People behind the barrier die. You don't need to worry about that though because it's just going to be you and me and you can't permanently kill me because there are respawns in this mode.”

“How do I move?” I felt stupid for asking. And once again, old. So old. 

He showed me the buttons to use on the keyboard and then showed me on the gaming mouse how to hit things and how to build things, his hand over mine as he leaned over me. “But they have the key above each item if you forget and if you want to change anything, I can in the menu.”

“I'll try it like this first,” I said as Edward started up the game. I bit my thumb as I tried to memorize everything he had said. 

You could farm materials for building from anything and everything was completely destroy-able. First I figured out how to jump around and run before learning to take things down with my ax. While I looked around and hit everything like a maniac to get used to the control, Edward was building a big game board like Monopoly with the tiles but with different traps or prizes on each one. The game had just recently put in a “roll the dice” emote that actually rolled a pair of six-sided dice. 

“Okay, so, the game I want to do is the first to get three matching guns in the same color wins. Everyone starts with full health. Some tiles have meds while others offer death,” he explained dramatically. I rolled my eyes. Eddie was stupidly cute. 

Somehow I won the first round. He was far too amused when he realized that I was going to win despite being killed several times already by my own stupidity. I had shot him several times for sass-talking me during the game. We played another two times, me winning the third game as well. It was a silly game and it made me laugh. There was no reason for me to be winning other than dumb blind luck. Though I was improving with my aim by the end. I had shot him in the head with a sniper rifle several times from across the board. It wasn’t part of the game he was trying to play, I just found it funny to see his face when I did it, a mix of half amused and half annoyed.

When he was done getting the video capture Edward needed I came to sit on his lap. His character had every possible unlockable outfit, emote, toy, pet or whatever dumb thing they had for it. I played with the character, looking at all the goofy choices.

He kissed along my neck. “Do you want to play a game together? A real one? You weren't a terrible shot.”

I glanced back at him. “When you were standing still. You let me kill you.”

He shrugged, a little smirk on his handsome face. “We could play in pairs and I could carry you to a victory.”

“You're rather confident,” I mused.

“Well, I'm not terrible at the game. I bet I could get you an easy win at least.”

“Think you could do it on the first try?” I looked up at him daringly, grinning at him wickedly. 

Edward smiled in return, taking the bait. “Are you challenging me, Isabella?”

I reached up and brought his mouth to mine, pulling his head down to me so I could kiss him deeply. It surprised him, the intensity of it. I pulled back, tugging on his bottom lip as I did. I could feel his erection against my thighs. 

“If you win the game for us I will do whatever you want and if I win, or rather lose, you have to do a video of my own design.”

“Okay,” Edward said, a little dopey. It was almost mean how much I swayed things in my favor with that. I kissed him again. “Wait.” He pulled away. “What if it's dirty? The things I want to do?”

“I was kind of counting on it to be? I’m only doing this because I think it’s going to be easy for me,” I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him dramatically. “But, both of us have to be alive at the very end. I mean obviously you. But it won't count if I die in the middle like that guy at the charity show and you win. Full escort mission style, baby.” 

“Sure, sure. But, what if I want to do something really kinky?” Edward was genuinely giddy and wide-eyed. He was stuck on that part.

“Do you want to spank me again?” I purred in his ear, kissing along his jaw. Edward was so easy to mess with. I batted my eyelashes, fucking with him further. “I hope so.”

“Shall I take you over my knee?” He said warmly with his fingers in my hair suddenly. My spine tingled a little with his sudden intensity, twisting his hand into my locks. 

“Yes, sir,” I breathed against his cheek before kissing it. His erection twitched against my thigh. 

I am going to have to think of a good video idea. 

I got up, bending over him so he could get a good view of my breasts before I kissed him again on the mouth. 

“I hope you win,” I told him before going to my computer. 

“I... I-” he began but stopped, pouting out his bottom lip. Edward adjusted his hard-on with a serious little face, wiggling in his seat.

Edward almost died at the very beginning and he cursed loudly, shouting at his screen wildly. I killed the guy just as they knocked out Edward but I was able to bring him back to life. I was only able to do it because he lowered the other guy’s health so much before. After that, it was an easier match. He mowed through around ten players while I took out a couple more myself because they were distracted by Edward. I used a trap for one and a bunch of sticky bombs on the other. I ended up being a mule for most of Edward’s supplies pretty much though. 

The final pair we were playing against was a very good set of players though and Edward had me hide for most of the last of the battle in a big box filled with traps. To say he was determined would be an understatement. He knocked out one of them but did not kill them and the other player was relentlessly shooting Edward. He screamed at the monitor as Edward was knocked out as well. Luckily I was able to shotgun the final player in the head from above just as he dropped Eddie, peeking out of my trap box from above before blindly shooting a half dozen times. It killed both players instantly, winning us the game.

“We won!” He said happily, hopping up from his desk and jumping up and down once. 

“Yes, but you were knocked out, my dear,” I said calmly. I pointed to the screen that said my player name had won the game. My avatar was dancing while he was still crawling at my feet around the pile of loot that popped up because of the other player's death. 

Edward stopped, “oh,” he drew out slowly. “Well...Damn.”

“Don't worry, I'll still let you spank me tonight,” I assured with him with a wicked little smile.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter twenty one- 

 

“Oi! That's not fair!” Edward pouted as he came over to where I was sitting in front of the computer. I exited out of the match and returned to the lobby where it rewarded me with several things like experience and new outfits for my own character. I had gone up three levels in a single match. 

“I did say both of us had to be alive at the end,” I pointed out dryly. 

He looked over the things I had won, checking out my stats and ignoring my sarcasm for a minute. Edward muttered, “but, you were talking about yourself.”

I couldn't help but smirk to myself. “Yes. You were more interested in finding out about your possible kinky reward than thinking about the fine print.”

“I...” he drew out and huffed, “Maybe, but I carried you for most of the game. I protected you.”

“Hm. Yeah. True. But, I was never knocked out and you had to be revived at the beginning,” I said in a bemused tone. This was fun. I was mean. “And, I killed that person on my own with a crappy pistol.”

Edward could see he was not going to win this with me and that he had truly lost. “But, I deleted so many people!”

“You sure did, baby. But, the most kills don't win the game right? It's the last man standing, like you said,” I reminded him. He had literally put years into the game and I had put one hour. It wasn't fair but I was having too much fun messing with him. He was clearly flustered. Of course, he was the only reason I lasted three seconds. 

“God, I really do wish I could give you a smack on the bum,” Edward tugged on the back of my hair playfully, speaking through his teeth. I held his gaze with a smirk on my own confident face.

“Do you think I was joking when I made the offer?” I asked him as I spun in the chair fully to face him. My face was perilously close to the button of his blue jeans. I ran my nose over the zipper, smoothing my finger up the back of his thighs as I did. I still held his stare. His cheeks were pink and his eyes so warm and green.

“Would you like it if I were rough with you?” He said in a low, honeyed tone. Edward ran his fingers over my jaw. He pressed his thumb against my lips and I brought it into my mouth to gently suck on. His breathing hitched as my tongue ran over the pad. Tracing his thumb against my lips, he dragged it down my chin and over my throat until he held my neck in his hand. He squeezed gently. “I don't want to hurt you.”

“I don't think you're capable of that,” I told him quietly. 

“I don't think that's true,” he slid his thumb up the center of my throat. He squeezed a little. He could have done it so much harder. Edward brought it over my chin, just below my lips. 

I bit his thumb to prove how indelicate I was. He hissed, grabbing my chin sharply while I grinned up at him. “I want to feel your hands on my skin long after I'm gone. I want to see your marks all over my body,” I told him in a sensual voice. 

Before I could realize what was happening, I was over his shoulder and dangling mere inches from his ass. I squealed and giggled with the pure joy of it. Edward slapped my ass, the skirt of my sundress bunched around my hips. I was wearing the lacy boy shorts he had picked out again after being freshly washed. 

He leaned in and took a big bite into my pink lacy cheek. I half laughed, half gasped. I smacked his own ass, hard. Edward slapped harder this time, making his palm hit the fleshy part of my cheek. I moaned in pleasure against his back, my fingers bunched into his shirt as I held onto him. 

“Is that what you would like, my darling?” He cooed.

“Harder,” I begged. He hit the other cheek with more force. I gasped, “harder.” Edward hit me again, making me cry out in pleasure. “Yes...Please.”

Edward arranged me over his knees after he sat down on the couch that took up one wall in his office. He yanked my skirt over my back, exposing my ass completely. He massaged and squeezed each cheek more and more roughly before striking. He never hit the same place twice in a row, getting bolder with each spanking as I cried out and squirmed on top of him. I could feel his erection rub against me, straining against his jeans. Edward's other hand smoothed over my back into my hair, pulling it back every so often with a tug. 

“Your skin is turning red...” he drew out as he slid his fingers between my legs over my panties. I had soaked through them completely and I squirmed against his touch. “Shall I stop?” Edward asked as he pulled his hand back, dragging the lace up to expose more of my cheek. 

“No,” I smiled as he leaned down to kiss my tender flesh. He pulled away and hit where he had kissed a moment before. I gasped, “mmm...yes!”

His hands were big and so strong. Adrenaline rushed through my body. I couldn't believe how good it felt. Slowly he brought my panties down, rolled down to expose my whole ass to him. He stroked it slowly, striking over and over again, before finally moving his fingers between my thighs.

“You are so delicious,” he purred as he slid a finger inside of me. “Fuck, I love how that feels.”

He worked his finger as deeply as he could inside, curling and twisting as he pulled and pushed it back in. Edward added another and I tightened around him as I cried out into the couch. I pressed my face against the cold leather, enjoying how it felt against my hot skin. 

“I want you to play with yourself,” Edward told me with a sharp tug of my hair. I quickly obliged, bring my hand underneath so I could play with my own clit. My skin was slippery and sensitive and his curling fingers left me breathlessly begging into the cushion for more. My orgasm was so quick and intense that I jerked away on impulse. 

I unbuttoned his jeans and freed his erection easily from his boxers when I got to my knees beside him on the couch. Without hesitation, I took him completely into my mouth. He gasped in surprise and rolled his head back against sofa cushions as one of his hands continued to rest on the small of my back. 

“Oh, God,” Edward hissed as I ran my teeth gently over his head. 

Slowly he began to run his fingers over my bottom, squeezing and kneading it before sliding back between my legs. Edward found my clit and began to smooth tight little circles around it. Soon I was bucking against him, moaning around his cock as I continued to work him with my mouth. 

I was shaking when I came again, enjoying it so much that it dripped down my thighs and all over his hand. Suddenly I found myself upright and being kissed by him forcefully. I was dizzy and hung onto his neck with both hands as I kissed him in return. He adjusted me so that I was straddling his waist. Our kiss was never broken. 

I reached between us and took him into my hand so I could continue to pleasure him as he bit into my shoulder. Edward was getting louder with his moans and growls, his fingers getting tighter in my hair and on my ass. 

First I rubbed him against my wet lips, letting his head become slick with me. It covered him and my hands as I pleasured us both with the tip. I rubbed it against my clit over and over again before dipping it back down to tease us both further. Quivering, my nails dug into his shoulder as I tried to keep myself upright with the coming of my next orgasm. And then he took over, taking himself into his hand and furiously masturbating against my clit. The force was surprising and perfect, making me have to use my other hand to keep myself upright. I buried my face in his neck, kissing and biting through my cries of pleasure. 

I threw my head back and called out his name loudly. It was perfect. Everything he was doing to me was amazing. My body belonged to him completely. He controlled me and I gave into him happily. His cum was hot and sticky on my dripping thighs and lower stomach. It turned me on more than I could have ever imagined and I collapsed against him with my own fierce kiss. 

“Goddamn,” he moaned between kisses. His sticky hand was running over my thigh and going back to squeeze my ass once again. “You turn me on more than any woman I've ever met. I want to make you cum again. I love it so much. I want to bury my face between your legs and see how many more times I can get you off with my mouth,” he said against my neck with his fingers knotted into my long black curly hair. I was too aroused to do anything other than moan. 

Edward swiftly laid me back down on the couch with his full body on top of me, kissing my lips furiously. It was a comforting weight and when his fingers twisted with mine above my head my hips pushed up towards him. He had so much energy. His mouth was relentlessly sweet and demanding. He pulled away and a second later was between my legs. 

I wanted to thank whatever woman came before me that taught him to love this divine art. Edward sucked and tugged, licked, bit, and kissed. I felt worshiped as he moaned into my skin. There was no resistance to the two fingers he shoved into me. I would have been happy to let him do it forever. 

He did not stop at one or two orgasms but worked me until I was a writhing mess with tears running down my eyes. My toes curled and my nails dug into the couch. Finally my fifth or sixth was too powerful and my body tore itself away from his mouth. I almost fell off the couch. 

“No,” he growled as he rose up on his knees between my legs. He pulled me back towards him with his erection in his hand. He began to rub himself against my clit again, one of his hands scooping up the back of my neck to bring me up off the couch in the kiss. “One more,” he demanded against my mouth. 

My body gave him exactly what he wanted after a few more moments of teasing. He came once more all over my thighs, legs, stomach, and dress. Edward collapsed on top me, burying his face in my neck as he panted. 

Ah, the benefits of dating a much younger man... 

I was dizzy to the point of being blurry eyed. Every part of me tingled and my legs could not move. My hands were balled up so hard that they hurt when I released them from their hold. My ass was stinging from the mild spanking and my own cum mixed with his was dripping onto the dress that was bunched underneath me. 

He had fucked me senseless without fucking me at all. It was without a doubt, the best orgasms I had given to me by a man. Ever. When he kissed me again I could taste us both on his lips. 

Finally, the daze began to wear away, his face buried in my neck happily. 

“I might have ruined your couch,” I told him quietly. 

“I doubt it but worth it,” he smiled against my skin. “Remind me to just hide condoms all over the house so I can fuck you in every room.”

“Yes, sir,” I lazily high fived him. He chuckled, hugging me to his warm body. “Quick question, did you take a class or were you a lesbian in a past life? Because damn. I don’t think a man has ever done those things to me.”

“Oh. Um,” Edward laughed a little shyly. “I uh...really? It's okay? I'm doing well?”

I looked at him, confused. “How many times did I cum?”

“I don't know, to be honest,” he said in a small voice.

“Neither do I. I lost count,” I told him softly. “That's the point.” He smiled up at me sweetly. I kissed him again gently. We were both so gross from our fuckery.

We laid in silence for a few moments, warm in our embrace. Our legs were tangled together and the position we had curled ourselves in was perfect. 

But finally, I became cold. 

“I'm really sticky,” I whispered to Edward. 

“Oh.” He popped up as if he had suddenly realized what we were lying in. “Right. Why don't we take a bath?” He offered. 

The bathtub in his bathroom was huge, holding both of us easily. The water came up to his shoulders when he leaned back completely. He was relaxed against the back, his arms over the rim of the tub. I sat on his lap at a slight angle. Laying my back against his chest, my foot rubbed against his ankle as we lounged in the soapy water. I felt so contented.

“So, I'm not working any Wednesday already but I've decided to take Thursday off as well. I have to work on Friday but I already arranged it so I don't have to go in until after your flight,” Edward said as he stroked my back lightly, letting the bubbles drip over my skin.

“I don't mind that you work,” I looked over my shoulder at him. “I understand.”

“But, I'm always working and I want to spend the last two days with you before you leave. I'm already dreading it,” he admitted. “So, I want to spend every possible second with you. I’ll never get my fill, but I’m going to have to try.”

“I am too,” I confessed as well. “But, it might be a good thing. We're moving so fast and we need to go back to our normal lives to see if we can make it work outside of this weird little bubble that we’ve created. We've been together two weeks solid now, we need time to process our feelings on our own.”

“I don't think you have to leave for that,” he complained.

I wasn't sure about that. “It's not for forever. You'll hopefully be able to stay for a few days at Thanksgiving.”

“What about after that?” Edward asked, his voice worried.

“I think we need to get closer to Thanksgiving to figure that out. We don't exactly know your work schedule.”

He sighed heavily, unhappy with my answer. “I suppose you're right. I'll be filming for a week in December, mid-month. I know that at least. I've got a small part I'm shooting for.”

“What will you be filming?” I asked. This was the first I was hearing about it. 

“It's a tech drama. I'm not sure it has a title yet. I'm not the lead, obviously. I'm the bad guy's number one henchmen,” he said a bit sarcastically. “Most of that shooting will be several fight scenes. I've got some training for it next month in November. I've never done anything like it before.”

“That sounds like fun though,” I tried to be encouraging, “Who is the lead?”

“Matt Damon. I get to film with him four of the days. Oscar Isaac is the bad guy boss that I work for. Jodie Foster is in it, too. I have a scene with her too where I kill her. But, it's quick. I just basically shoot her in the head after a witty one-liner,” I could tell by the way he was talking that he was feeling nervous. He was trying to act like it was no big deal.

“That seems so exciting,” I told him softly, tilting my head back for a second so I could press my lips to his cheek. “So many good actors.”

“I never expected to be a real actor. I just wanted to do voices,” he said a little quietly. I looked behind me, concerned.

“You don't have to do things you don't like, Eddie.”

He leaned his head back against the rim. “I don't dislike it. I don't know. It's complicated. I feel like a fraud. And, I hate feeling like meat. And, I hate being with the press. With a few exceptions,” he smoothed his hand over my shoulder, bubbles slipping down my chest.

I shook my head. “You're not a fraud. You worked very hard and you are a very talented entertainer.”

Edward lifted his head up so he could look at me. He kissed my cheek, pressing his face into it for a moment before resting his chin on my shoulder. “You make me feel so confident. I think you could encourage me to do anything. I need you to be around all the time to just be my personal cheerleader.”

“It's just because you're all euphoric from the new romance chemicals in your brain,” I teased him.

“Are you not?” He asked almost nervously. 

“I didn't say that I wasn't, I just know what it is,” I pointed out to him. “I understand, though. What it's like to have someone be unconditionally supportive and encouraging. Alice is my cheerleader, to use your word. I hope I can continue to be yours.”

“I think I'm going to like her,” he told me sweetly as he kissed my ear lightly before whispering, “And, I adore you.”

I brought his hand up to lightly kiss his knuckles before wrapping his arm around my stomach. 

That Tuesday Edward had to go record voice-overs for ads. He couldn't even tell me who for because of his contract, other than it was a snack food and it was a series of commercials. 

Since I was going to be alone all day, I decided to go to a museum. That morning Edward had to be up very early, for him anyway, around eight in the morning. I made him a quick breakfast of toast, fruit, bacon, and coffee which he ate in a foggy daze, yawning as he looked forward towards the pool blankly. He stood with me while I waited for my Uber before driving off to work.

The Getty was a massive white impressive set of buildings. I took a slow stroll through the art museum portion, taking hundreds of pictures in just a couple of hours. I sat across from the Van Gogh, a beautiful picture of purple irises, for twenty minutes to just memorize it. I had tried to do the same whenever I went to see the Starry Night at the MoMA but it was always surrounded by tourists. It was a very quiet Tuesday morning in October. It was peaceful.

I took myself to a nice quiet lunch where I had a garbage salad. Garbage as far as for me healthwise, not as far as taste. I made it myself at a salad bar with chunks of turkey, ham, and real bacon plus cheddar, feta, and Parmesan cheese. It had a nice mix of carrots, tomatoes, and salad as well, but since I covered it in french dressing and croutons it was less than worthless. I loved it. I had a nice unsweetened tea with lemon and a bunch of butter crackers with it. I also treated myself to a cream tart with cherries in syrup on top. 

Edward would be getting in around six in the evening, hopefully, so I decided to run to the store to pick us out dinner and something to bring to the party the following day. I had trouble deciding what to make and I got too much stuff. I wanted to try all the new gadgets in his kitchen though. 

I decided to make steak fajitas for dinner so I put some skirt steak in marinade. Then I put dried beans in the electric pressure cooker to make hummus for the party. Next, I started the pita dough then set it to the side to proof. I prepped my vegetables for dinner; onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms as well of all the raw vegetables for the hummus. I made a quick salsa, guacamole, and seasoned sour cream for our fajitas, too. When the beans were done I finally made the hummus then put it away for the next day. His fridge was filled with dips. 

I was making rice crispy treats for the party when Edward finally came home a couple of hours later than he wanted to. It was almost eight in the evening. The last batch of pita was in the oven, making the whole house smell like fresh yeasty bread.

“Oh, god,” Edward moaned as he came through the door that connected the garage to the kitchen. “It smells so fucking good.”

It made me feel proud of myself. I smiled happily. “Thank you. It's for Tyler's thing.”

“What is it?” He asked as he removed his hoodie before plopping down on a stool at the bar. He looked just exhausted.

“Fresh pita bread. I made some garlic hummus to dip it in. I also got carrots, celery, radishes, cucumbers, and bell pepper, too. And, this is for the dessert table,” I pointed at the pan. “Rice crispy treats. I made sure everything was vegan for his girlfriend.”

“It sounds nice. Healthy, too. Besides the rice crispy treat,” he picked a bit off the side of the bowl and put it in his mouth. “Oh, it's warm. I've not had it fresh like this before. It's good.”

“It's a good lazy dessert. And, it's better fresh. If you give me a second, I'll start dinner,” I leaned in and gave him a soft, slow, kiss. He made my stomach stir with desire the way his hands drifted over my hips. I could taste marshmallow on his lips. 

I really did just want to suck face with him all day. It was like being a teenager again.

“Do I need to do anything?” He asked with fluttering eyelashes as he pulled away. Edward was so pretty.

“Want to make us some cold drinks? I offered, feeling hot. I wasn't going to make him work too hard after such a long day. He wanted to help though. 

Edward made me a glass of wine and he got himself a bottle of beer before settling back at the bar to watch me work. 

“How was your day?” He asked sweetly, watching me as I started cooking the steak in a skillet. He had his chin resting on his palm. 

I went to the refrigerator to start pulling all the stuff we needed out. “I saw a Van Gogh and Monet I've never seen in person before. It was nice.”

Edward gave me a little smile. “I'd ask which ones but I'm not sure I know more than a couple of painting, period. Starry night, of course. The sunflowers one. Monet did the water lilies and ponds with bridges, right?” 

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I've seen some of his water lilies but he did a lot of them, I think. Starry night is back home. In Manhattan. Van Gogh did a couple with sunflowers. I think those are in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam though. I want to go there and see my favorite by him there one day,” I explained to him.

“Which is that?” Edward asked curiously. “Which is your favorite?”

I knew he wasn't going to know which one it was. “It's a skeleton smoking a cigarette.” 

Edward laughed in an unbelieving way as he pulled out his phone to look up the painting. “Oh, sure enough,” he continued to laugh. “It's almost cartoonish. I love it so much. I can see why you’d like it.”

I smiled at his reaction. “We have a big framed print of it in the hallway. We're nerds.”

“High art,” he praised.

“As in he was probably high when he painted, sure,” I teased. 

Edward was so easy to talk to. We held a constant conversation as I finished our meal and we ate at his dinner table afterward. He was always so interested in what I was talking about. 

“Bella, I'm already so spoiled to your cooking,” he complained again after dinner while we sat by his pool. It was starting to get a little cooler since it was so close to November. He wrapped his arms around me, his face in my hair. He liked my hair so much. “How am I supposed to go back to take out now?”

“Good! Good! It's all part of the plan,” I replied devilishly.

He chuckled, “mm, make him too fat to get away?”

“Yessss,” I drew out, rubbing his nice hard stomach. “Exactly.”

“Yay, fat!” He said, playfully clapping once. “I look forward to my epic dad bod, darling,” Edward said sarcastically.

“Hm, how long do you think it'll take? Nine months? Talk about food babies,” I poked his stomach.

“Six. I'm an overachiever,” he rubbed his gut happily.

I giggled quietly. “I don't think it will be that quick. Maybe after six months of living together straight.”

Edward pressed his face into my hair again. “I like the sound of that.”

“Too soon,” I patted his knee.

“I know, I just like how it sounds,” he answered in a low honeyed tone before pulling me into a heated kiss.


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-two-

 

We woke up on Halloween morning around ten with no alarms. I woke up in Edward’s arms, his nude body pressed against mine completely. It was just cool enough that we weren't too sweaty to do so. His morning erection ground into my bare ass as we spooned and I wiggled up against it happily. He reacted instantly in his sleep, pulling my hips towards him more firmly. Just being this close to him made me crazy horny. What was he doing to me? I didn’t mind at all. 

I let my hand gently explore the top of his that rested on my stomach, my fingertips tracing his knuckles, slowly swirling my hips so that my plush ass brushed against him. I knew he was asleep but his erection certainly wasn’t. It reacted happily with each touch. His hand pressed against my stomach, his fingers gently curling in against my skin. His breath was so warm against my shoulder. After a few moments, his hand slowly slipped down past my belly button until it reached the hair between my legs. Edward gently scratched his nails through it, earning a little gasp as I pressed back against him harder. 

He hummed quietly and I rolled my ass against him a little harder, earning a deep intake of breath through his nose. Edward pressed his lips against my shoulder, his hand sliding further down until he reached the apex of my thighs. With a single finger on my clit, he leisurely began to pleasure me. It was my turn to hum, closing my eyes as I enjoyed his attention. Slowly and steadily he touched me tenderly until I was squirming against him. 

His erection slipped between my thighs as I rocked against him. His free hand went to my breast, playing with it lightly. I’m not sure Edward had even opened his eyes yet. 

I wiggled against him until he pressed right at my entrance, teasing me pleasantly as Edward continued to finger me. I wanted to push him deeper inside but I didn’t want him to stop to get a condom. So I tortured us both as I let him just barely press inside of me. I called out his name quietly, wanting him to grab my hips and just thrust into me wildly when I came for the first time. Instead, he pulled away, earning a groan.

“Condom,” he breathed, fumbling behind him. 

“I need to get some birth control,” I complained, looking back at him as I pushed my hair away from my face. He quickly returned to where he was, his sticky condom wrapped erection brushing against my back.

“Give me the ass back,” Edward mumbled sleepily as he grabbed my hips so he could readjust me against him as we laid on our sides. I giggled, wiggling my bottom until I was to where I wanted him. He slipped inside easily, already very wet from his fingers earlier. I wrapped his arm around my waist tightly, bouncing back against him slowly as we rocked quietly in time with each other. 

Edward dragged his hand down again between my legs, returning to his slow torture as his other hand rested back on my breast. Our movements were slow and sweet, every moment better than the last. I bit into my lip deeply, leaning my head back until it was pressed against him. 

“That’s it,” he cooed softly in his velvety voice as I tightened. He gasped as he came, ducking his face against my shoulder. Neither of one of us had earth-shattering orgasms, instead, these were gentle and with enticing whispers of more demanding ones. I needed more of them. I needed more of him. 

“Make me cum again,” I asked him as he buried his face in my neck from behind, kissing it lightly. 

“How?” Edward asked, sleep still in his voice. 

“I don’t care. I just need to feel you.”

We lazily fucked until noon, a quiet and ceaseless build-up that lasted for hours. We then napped for an hour before finally getting up to shower. 

Under the water, he traced my tattoos on my shoulder with his fingers. “There are ten on your back. Seven on your chest and torso. Eight on your left leg and ten on the right.”

“Wow, how many is that all together?” I mused out loud. I had long lost count.

“Thirty-five, I think. I'm surprised you can hide that many so well. I wouldn't have known If you hadn’t shown me.”

“Well, the ones on my feet, ankles, and legs are easy. Just wear pants and shoes. Socks. It's just because I dress so conservatively most the time for work. A lot of them are small, too. Especially my charm bracelets around my ankles,” I lifted my foot to make a point. 

“I wondered if they had a theme.” 

There were ten 'charms' all together that represented different things that happened to me as a younger woman on both of my ankles. There was a shamrock for my mother who was born on Saint Patrick's day, a simple cross for my very religious grandmother, a cat paw for the mascot of the school I went to all my life, a half a heart for Alice who had the other tattooed on hers and a star that Rosalie picked out just above my left ankle along with a few others. They were all the same size and wrapped my ankles perfectly. I explained all of this to him. 

“Which is your favorite tattoo?” He asked. I thought about it for a moment. 

“I really like my rainbow stars,” I pointed to the tops of my feet. “I got them on my twenty-first birthday and Demetri, Al, and Rose all went together to get them for me. Took like six hours and it hurt for days. I couldn't wear shoes like an idiot in New York in October,” I laughed as I remembered it. I pointed to the thick black outline of ultra-realistic roses on my hip, “And I really like this one. Aiden got for my twenty-fifth. And I didn't learn my lesson because I couldn't wear pants for ages, of course. I really like my butterfly, too. The details are gorgeous. I want another to match,” I pointed to the blank spot on my collarbone, “right here.”

“Next time you come we'll have to do another tattoo video,” he told me sweetly. “Maybe you can pick a tattoo for me out.”

“No,” I laughed, “I ain't picking anyone's tattoo out. But, I'll go with you to get another one. I loved it. And, I can hold your hand this time.”

“We're going to have to make a list of videos we want to make when you come back,” he thought out loud. “I'm sorry, I'm assuming you'll want to be in them again.”

“I absolutely want to be in them with you,” I soothed his worry. “I think making a list would be a great idea.”

Edward smirked a little bit as he considered his next words, rinsing the soap from his hands. “Have you figured what torturous video you're going to put me through for our bet?” 

“I was just messing with you,” I rolled my eye and smirked a little myself. 

“I figured but I still dropped at the end. You must have had something in mind.” 

I had actually thought of something funny afterward. I just didn’t think it was going to actually happen. 

“I wanted to give a makeup tutorial...” I drew out slowly.

“Oh! Really? That doesn't seem so bad,” he seemed confused. 

“On you, sweetie. The makeup would be on you.”

“Oh... Oh!” Edward figured it out slowly. He looked salty and pouted a little bit, “dammit, that's a good idea for a video.” 

I laughed at his annoyance. 

“All I'd need to do is to get you some foundation and some concealer because we're totally different skin tones,” I smiled evilly at the thought of all the highlighter I was definitely going to use on his sharp ass cheekbones. He was going to look fabulous. 

“The party isn't until six,” he mumbled, looking up towards the ceiling. “So, if you want to run out and go get that we can get some food and pick that up. If we have time we can do the video before we go.”

“Sure,” I pulled him down for a kiss. “It'll get you so many views, I promise.”

“Goddammit, probably,” he muttered. 

There was an Ulta near his neighborhood in a set of shopping centers. In front were several restaurants, one of which was a ramen place. We grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the beauty store. It had been ages since I had gone into one. 

I decided not to get him the most expensive stuff since it was just going to be for the video. I also bought a bright red eyeshadow and red glitter for my costume. We got it all for free because he had an insane amount of points from his crazy purchase previously. 

It was three in the afternoon when we arrived back at his house. He went to set up his video equipment while I went to get all my supplies. He was utterly shocked at all the things I grabbed. Edward had pulled down a green screen behind us so the background wasn't so busy. He would fill it in later in post-production. 

We sat at the table together to do the intro. 

“You start it.”

“Okay,” I smirked at his silly attitude. “You're just annoyed you didn't think of it first.”

“I am!” He complained. “And now I have so many other stupid ideas with makeup,” Edward pouted, scrubbing his hands over his face. “As always, you are an inspiration.” 

I laughed a little, “add it to the list.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I will,” he pouted before continuing, “three, two, one...” 

“Hi, my name is Bella Swan and this is Edward Cullen, and I'm going to give Eddie a whole new look today. And do you want to tell them why, babe?” I looked over at him with a big grin. 

“Insert me making a bet I couldn't possibly win here,” he said dryly. I loved his fake boredom and annoyance. There was a smile just twitching at the corner of his lips. 

“Aw, you could have won. You missed it by that much,” I pinched my fingers close together. “But, you didn't. So, I'm going to make you purdy, boy.”

He was pouting just a little bit for the camera.

I started by cleansing his face and scrubbing it smooth. I rubbed moisturizer on his thirsty flesh. “You need to use more lotion on your skin and probably drink more water,” I told him as I rubbed it in. He was a typical man that did little for his skin, despite everyone seeing it all the time for work. 

“That feels so good,” Edward answered me instead as I rubbed his cheeks with his head leaned back and eyes closed. He wasn't paying attention to anything but my touch. I rolled my eyes a little but smiled. 

Next, I covered his face in primer before shaping up his eyebrows with a tiny comb and scissors. His eyebrows had obviously been groomed within the past few months because they were fairly neat still. We could actually use the same eyebrow colors. He had dark brown eyebrows.

Edward looked in the mirror when he saw that I finished filling them in. “Holy crap. That looks so much better. I don’t like my eyebrows normally.”

“I can show you how to do it later so you can do it yourself. For videos and pictures,” I assured him as I got the cream foundation out, squirting a lot on the top of my hand. I dabbed away, blending into his skin gently with an egg-shaped sponge. I stood over him, his eyes shut and his lips in a smile as I worked. When he saw what I had done Edward mumbled, “I'm so white.”

“Don't worry, I'm working on it,” I informed him. There were still a few steps to go. 

“No, I meant just in general,” he joked.

“Oh,” I giggled. “So, I think I'm going to with purple tones for your eyes.”

“Going to make me look like I've got a black eye, eh?” Edward teased me. 

“I could do that,” I informed him. “I've done stage makeup a few times.”

“No, make me pretty, darling,” Edward said in a silly voice, his pretty eyes looking up into mine. 

“Yes, sir,” I whispered. He bit his lip to hide his naughty smile. As I worked he rubbed my hip sweetly, resting his hand there as if he couldn't bear to not be touching me for even a moment. I liked it.

I used about five different shades to get his final look, blending and layering colors. It was more effort than I normally put into my own. I did his eyeliner first with a black pencil before giving him a cat eye with liquid eyeliner. “That feels so weird,” he muttered as I put on fake eyelashes. I blended in the corners of his eyes with a white pencil to make them look even bigger somehow. His eyes were like a damn anime character’s. 

“Don't look again until I'm all done,” I turned away the mirror so he couldn’t peak. 

“Okay,” Edward agreed with a smirk. I think he thought I was making him look crazy. I was actually trying really hard to make him look nice. I was no Demetri though. 

Next was concealer, contouring, and the egg sponge again. Then powder and blush on his cheeks and nose so he wasn't Casper the friendly ghost white anymore. I chose a light lavender highlighter that I blended onto his nose and under his eyes on top of his sharp cheekbones.

“I was not prepared for how intimate this is,” he told me warmly as I picked out a dark burgundy matte bullet lipstick from the pile that I brought. “I’ve had makeup done before, but not like this.”

“Are you enjoying it?” I asked him curiously.

“Very much so,” Edward told me honestly. “I love how gentle you are with me.”

“Good. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Because you look sexy as fuck. I mean, I'd do you. Don't put that in the video,” I pointed to future him in the camera.

“Maybe,” he teased. “Maybe not.”

“No.”

I took his chin sharply and pushed his lips apart with my thumb. It was rougher than he expected but he obviously enjoyed it. Edward was practically squirming in his seat, aroused already. I kissed him once, looking directly into his eyes as I bent over to take them. Afterward, I carefully filled his lips with dark wine color after. 

“I'm going to be honest with you, I'm kind of mad at how much prettier in makeup you look compared to me,” I told him seriously. 

“Oh, do shut up,” he pursed his lovely lips together. “You are so full of piss. I probably look like a Disney villain. Genderswap Ursula.”

“Hardly.” I pushed the mirror over to him. “Here you go.”

His eyes got wider as he took in his image in the mirror. “Whoa, I thought I was going to be more drag queen at a clown convention. I look legit. What the fuck?” He picked up the mirror and brought it up to see my work. “I am fierce,” Eddie said in a deep voice. 

I lost it finally, giggling hysterically. He raised one of his perfect eyebrows at me. 

“I love it so much.”

“I look like the butch sister got her makeover,” Edward joked. “Give the outro,” he kept looking at himself in the mirror.

“Okay, Narcissus,” I teased him. He stuck his tongue out at me playfully. Still giggling, I turned to face the camera. “If you enjoyed this video and want to see Eddie continue to get more in touch with his not so inner diva, please do all the buttons, bells, and whistles! Bye!”

Edward blew a seductive kiss into the camera before turning it off.

He grabbed me by the waist, tickling me as he laughed. Pulling me down to his lap, Edward brought out his phone to take several selfies with me. Most of them were silly. 

“Thank you,” he finally said. “That will be a fun video to edit.”

“I’m sure it will be,” I told him happily. I was having so much fun. 

I had to start getting ready for the party though. Edward continued to take silly selfies and send them to his friends and family while I straightened my hair. 

“Jasper says I’m sexy as fuck,” he informed me with a giggle in his voice. 

“Well, he’s not wrong,” I smirked. “Let me know when you wanna take it off and I'll help you,” I told him as I started on my makeup. 

His cell rang before he could answer me. “Hello, Nana!” He said joyfully into the phone then laughed at the response. “No, not for Halloween. It was for a video. I lost a bet,” Edward explained. “Yes, she did very well. I think I look like a manly Tanya, too. Oh, her name is Bella. She was on the video with me at the jump. No, she's doesn't work for me. She's my girlfriend actually. Yes, and a photographer, too. Amazingly, she can do both at the same time. Yes, I do realize handling me is a full-time job. Okay… Hold on a sec.” 

He pulled the phone away from his ear. “My Nana would like to Facetime.”

“Go for it,” I encouraged him. I was working on my eyes, filling my eyelids with red. 

Edward pulled up the feature on his phone. “There you are!” He said brightly to the screen.

“Oh, look at you!” The older English woman laughed. “Let me see your eyes. Close them. My, look at that!”

“I've never felt so sexy,” he said in a rich voice, smiling too big and awkwardly. I giggled. He was being a ham for her. 

“What time is it there, dear? Are you doing anything for the holiday?” She questioned.

“It's almost five. We're going to a party at my mate's house. They're doing a potluck and passing out candy to the kiddies,” he explained cheerfully in full out actor mode. 

“Is your girlfriend there?” She asked. I had just finished with my eyes, putting outrageously long eyelashes on. He brought the phone down to me so I could be introduced to her. 

“Hello,” I tried to say at cheerfully as possible. I wanted her to like me after all. “Nice to meet you. I'm putting on costume makeup right now,” I apologized. “I normally look more... normal,” I drew out stupidly.

“Are you going to be a devil?” She asked.

“Yes, ma'am,” I nodded. “In a blue dress.”

“It's lovely, dear! So bold and excitingly colored. What's your name again?” Her face was just a little too close to the screen and all I could really see of her was her eyes. They were green, like Edward's. 

“Bella Swan, ma'am.” I had forgotten how awkward it felt to meet your romantic interests family for the first time. I hadn't done it in years. I would have figured it would have been easier as an adult. 

“Too close, Nana,” Edward told her. She pulled the phone away, her thick white hair pulled up neatly in a bun and fancy pearl necklace and matching earrings. 

“I'm Elizabeth Everson, Edward's maternal grandmother,” her accent was very posh. She was obviously very well put together. “How long have you two been together?”

Edward leaned into the picture, “just mid-October, Nana. Let's let her finish,” he moved the phone away with an apologetic smile to me. “How's Grandpa George?” He asked as he went into the bedroom. 

I dusted the bright red around the edges of my face and my cheeks, brushing it with glitter as well. I used a glossy bright red on my lips. When I was done with my face I put on my dress. I panicked when I saw that one of the sequins was flipped over and twisted. The flip side was red. I rushed to smooth it and realized they all flipped. 

Giggling in pleasure with my whole look complete, down to my red shiny heels, I came out of the bathroom to show Edward. 

“Look,” I slid my fingers over my stomach. It left a trail of red. “I didn't realize it did it,” I said happily.

“How perfect!” He laughed with me, showing his grandmother. I smoothed them back to the blue side, “Ten out of ten. Perfect costume, love.”

“Very good, dear,” she praised me as well.

“Okay, Nana, she has to take my face off so I can put my costume on. I'll talk to you later. I love you. Tell Grandpa George hello.”

“I love you, too, my angel. Have a good time. Be careful,” she told them before they hung up. 

Edward gave a little sigh of contentment when he was done. It made me happy. 

Carefully I removed his makeup, tugging free the eyelashes from his eyes. He liked the removal and the few moments of pampering just as much as he liked having it put on but it went much quicker. He kissed my hand so as not to mess up my lips and rushed off to put on his Halloween look. 

Edward decided to go as James Bond. In a full tux with bow tie and red pocket square. His shoes were extra shiny and black leather, too. He had worked his hair into place with wax. In his jacket pocket, he had a little PPK water gun. He looked so fine. I had a hard time not climbing him like a tree. 

He did have me fill in his eyebrows again though. Edward wanted 'Sean Connery' eyebrows. I just filled them in subtly. He kept making little faces at me as I did, occasionally stopping me because he kept kissing my stomach as I stood over him. He seemed so very... satisfied. 

 

!


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter twenty three-

 

We got quite a few looks as we stopped to get some drinks for the party. The entire taxi ride there Edward kept drawing pictures in my dress with his finger. It was making me ticklish and I almost laughed until I cried. Finally, I forced him to stop so not to ruin my makeup. 

“I wanna write on your bum,” he mumbled as we walked towards Tyler's house. “Mine,” “Or, maybe Eddie. I might be able to fit Edward's on there if I try.”

“Later,” I teased him with a wink. 

The front yard was covered in decorations. It had probably taken Tyler years to unearth that many. He lived a few doors down from a youth center and a park that was having a party as well. There were kids everywhere. It was the first time in a long time since I had seen any trick or treaters. 

Tyler was already outside by a big cast iron grill in the front yard, standing beside Seth and two other men probably in their mid-thirties as well. Tyler was dressed as Indiana Jones and Seth was dressed like Magnum P.I with a big fake mustache and a red Hawaiian shirt.

“Oh, my god! Chip and Dale! I loved you as a kid!” I said too brightly as I came clicking up the driving way in my heels. 

“Shit, you're right!” Edward laughed.

“We didn't know!” Seth complained sourly, almost shouting. 

“No, it's good. Really. I think it's great,” I assured him before showing the men there all the bags that I had. “Where do you want the food?”

“Oh, this way,” he handed the tongs over to a tall thin man that looked a lot like him. “This is my brother, Andy, by the way. And my friend Raj,” he pointed at the other guy who was dressed as a vampire with fake blood on his neck and chin. “This is my quote-unquote boss, Eddie, and his girl, Bella.”

“Quote, unquote. I mean, I do tell you what to do. Kind of. Sort of,” Edward teased back. “Nice to meet you Raj. Nice to see you again, Andy.” Edward shook hands with both of them. 

“Hi,” I smiled, trying not to be awkward.

“Did you bring your camera?” Tyler asked as he took one of the food bags from me. 

“I did, if that's okay,” I replied. Edward was carrying the bag for me. 

“No, it's awesome. I was hoping you would. Would you send me the pictures?” He asked as we walked through his house. It was small and just as decorated as the outside of the house. It was a really cozy little cottage probably from the fifties. I loved it.

“Absolutely,” I promised.

“I would have never guessed you were this into Halloween,” Edward said as he trailed behind. 

“It's me and my girlfriend's favorite,” he grinned so wide his eyes all but disappeared under his fedora. “Lauren, where do you want this?” He asked a tiny woman only a couple of inches taller than me in the kitchen. She was dressed as Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter. Gray face and all. It was really good. 

“What is it?” She asked. She smiled cheerfully when she saw us. “Hi, Eddie. Nice to see you again.”

“Hi, Lauren. Nice to see you, too. I have some beer, too!” He showed her the case at his side.

“Wow, great! There is an extra fridge in the garage. Tyler, go show him. Put it in there so it can get cold,” she told him, glancing over her shoulder from her work setting up the counters with all the food they had.

“I have some garlic hummus and pita bread to dip, veggies too. And a rice crispy squares,” I brought my bag to the open workspace. 

“Oh, sweet! This looks great. Thanks. Sorry, we haven't met but you're Bella, right?” She washed her hands, rushing to take the stuff from me. 

“Yeah. Everything is vegan, by the way.”

“Wow, you brought so much. Thank you!” Lauren looked at what was stuffed inside. 

“Oh, no problem. I just wanted to try all the stuff I got for Edward's kitchen the other day. Thanks for inviting us over. This place looks amazing. I love your home, it's adorable.”

“Thanks. I love your costume! I'm really into sequins right now.”

“I love yours, too! But, I would have paid anything to walk in here and have you dressed as Gadget,” I blurted out before I realized she might not know what I was talking about. I really did like Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers as a kid.

“I know!” She practically shouted. “I wish I had known! I could have definitely been Gadget and our pug could have been the little fly. Zipper?”

I went to wash my hands to help her out if she needed it. “You just need a Monterrey Jack.”

“See! She thinks we need to have a baby, too!” She shouted at Tyler as he came back from the garage.

“She did not. We can hear you in there, you know. Having a child for the sake of a costume is not a good reason anyway. Don't drag her into your insanity,“ he said calmly as if they had this conversation more than once. 

“You know what. I like her. For the sake of causing drama... Yeah, you should totally have a baby,” I giggled evilly, rubbing my hands together. Then I made my eyes big, “wait, what if you have Shia Labeouf? Your last movie was terrible, Indy.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Tyler just walked out of the kitchen to go back to the grill, running away from the conversation. We both laughed, clearly making all the men in the room a little nervous.

“Wait, are you two married?” I asked in amusement as Edward passed me a bottle of hard cider that he brought me from the fridge. He knew they were some of my favorites. He wrapped his arm around me, my hip to his, as we leaned against the counter. 

“Practically. But no, but we've been together for seven years. I don't care about getting married. I just want to have kids. We've been talking about it for a month or so now. My sister just had a baby and...”

“I get it. Babies are babies. That clock is mean and loud,” I nodded. I knew that feeling all too well. “Especially when they're all cute and small and someone else's.”

“Exactly,” she agreed with a solemn head nod.

“Do you want children?” Edward asked me curiously. I was kind of surprised he was asking me in the middle of a party we had just arrived to but clearly, he didn't see this as a big question to ask your new girlfriend. I thought for a moment to give him the best answer.

“I don't not want children?” I phrased it as a question. I shrugged. “I'm probably not going to have kids at this point though if we're being honest. Not of my own, at least.”

“Why?” Lauren asked as she arranged the food we brought onto tables already filled with so much other food. 

“I just turned thirty-three. I haven't been in a relationship in years... well, until Eddie just very recently, I mean. If I were to have children, I'd like to be married to the father or have a partner to make it easier. It takes years to get a relationship to that point. I don't know,” I shook my head with a little sigh. “I work at a non-profit where we help disadvantaged youth so I've considered adopting older kids. You know, teens rarely find families. I kind of figured my roommate and I would probably hit our forties as old spinsters together at this rate. We've talked about fostering teens together but she works all the time and my money isn't stable enough yet,” I monologued before feeling awkward and taking a big drink from my cider. 

“Do you want kids, Eddie?” Lauren asked him thoughtfully as she picked up one of the desserts I brought to eat. She had a little smirk on her gray face as she caused her own drama. I did like her. He did open this door though. He didn't seem bothered. 

“Well, I adore children but I've not quite gotten that far in life,” he smiled politely at her. “I love all my nieces, though. Babies are fun. Toddlers are too if you can give them back after you wind them up. That’s the best.”

“You're the fun uncle,” Lauren concluded. 

“Damn straight.” Edward smiled proudly.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I offered, wanting to change the subject. 

“No, I think I got this. If you want, you can go keep the boys company. More people should be getting here within the hour,” she explained. 

We left her to her work. There were a few people talking in the living room and a couple more new people outside as well. 

“Stop encouraging her,” Tyler said to me as we came outside. He snapped the tongs at me.

“You've been together for seven years. She doesn't need encouragement,” Edward told him, pointing his beer at him.

“He's going to give her babies,” I told Edward. I drew a heart on my stomach in the sequins. “Aw, Daddy.”

“That's the scariest thing I've heard all day,” he mumbled. “Oh, look, trick or treaters.” Tyler shoved the bowl of candy at me. “Go give out candy.”

For the next thirty minutes, Edward and I sat on an outdoor loveseat, passing out candy to kids as they left the park party. A couple of them instantly realized who Eddie was and he took pictures with them. He gave them lots of candy. There were a lot of wide-eyed older siblings who were too cool to say anything too.

“Happy Halloween,” I told a four-year-old pirate as he came up the driveway with his mother in tow. “Want some Skittles or M&Ms?”

He starred off towards the grill where there was quite the crowd now. There were maybe twenty or thirty people at the party now. “Can I have a hot dog?” The little boy asked. 

“Chase, no, honey. You can't,” the mom said quickly. 

“Mom, I don't blame him. They smell so good!” I told her with a smile. “You hungry, baby?”

“Yeah!” He said sweetly. 

“Okay, first, pick out some candy for later,” I held out the bucket to him and he snatched a whole handful for his bag. “Now, I can't make any promises, but let me go talk to the person in charge real quick.”

“Oh, um, thank you,” the mom said with an embarrassed laugh. 

I came up to Tyler, leaning in so I could speak only to him. “The young pirate requests a hot dog. May I fix him a plate?”

He leaned over to see Edward and the little boy talking excitedly. He was showing off his fake sword while Edward showed him his water gun. “Oh, yeah, Go for it. We have too much food anyway. Happy Halloween!” He shouted to the mom with a wave and a smile. 

I came back over to the little boy and Edward, the little boy playing with his water gun now. “Okay. So, you want a hot dog?” 

He was super excited now. “Yeah!”

“Do you want it on a bun?”

“Yes, please!”

“Do you want anything on it?” I asked as much to his mother as to him. He was having too much fun with the toy though to answer.

“He likes ketchup,” the mom said with a smile on her face. 

“Do you like chips?” I asked him before turning to his mom. “Does he have any allergies?” 

“No, he doesn't.”

“I love chips!” The boy said loudly, almost shouting it in Edward's face. Eddie shook his head with amusement, his ears probably ringing a little bit. 

I had fun making the little boy a plate of food. I also grabbed him a can of soda as well. When I came back out he was helping Edward pass out candy to a whole group of kids like he was a pro. It was sweet to watch.

“Look at that!” The mom said as she saw the plate. “Look, Chase! What do you say?”

“Thank you!” He beamed as I put the plate in his lap as he sat on the loveseat beside my sweet boyfriend. 

“You're welcome. Let's see, a hot dog with ketchup, chips, and pretzels. Some carrots and hummus. Then we have a fruit kabob, a rice crispy treat, and a couple of cookies,” I pointed out all the treats.

“I don't have to feed you dinner tonight!” The mom laughed. “Thanks, that's so nice.”

I handed her the soda to hold. “Well, it's easy when it's not your food,” I joked. 

Chase and his mother stayed until he finished the entire plate. We gave him more candy before they went on their way. Edward gave him his water gun, too. 

It was starting to get dark and a little chillier outside so we decided to give up candy duty to someone more warmly dressed to move to the living room. We couldn't hog all the fun. 

I took pictures for a while before we made our own dinner plate, simply sharing one because I had to sit on his lap since there was such limited seating. We ended chatting with Lauren and a couple of her friends for a long time in the living room.

As it got later in the evening the crowd changed at little as the party came mainly inside. There were no more trick or treaters and the harder liquor had come out. We started playing Cards against Humanity with apparently the entire line of cards. The game lasted for hours and no one kept track of anything. It was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot. 

As it got to be about one in the evening it thinned out to about ten people. Edward and I, Lauren, Tyler, Seth, Andy, Raj, and a couple of Lauren's friends that I couldn't remember the names of. I continued to sit on Edward's lap, just because I wanted to. It might have been because I wasn't sober, too.

They had brought out karaoke and Tyler and Lauren were singing horribly together but they were having a great time. I was a little buzzy and lazily looking at the about five hundred pictures I had taken at the party, rocking my foot along to the beat. 

“I'll take a picture of you two if you want,” Seth offered from beside us. 

I passed him my camera. He knew how it worked because he had one very similar that he brought with him on shoots. It was just a slightly different model. Mine was nicer, though. Taking several pictures, we made silly faces in each one until finally, we were serious. 

“Thanks,” I giggled when I looked at the results. 

“Are you going to sing?” Lauren asked me, showing me all the list of song I could pick from on her laptop screen. It was a big list. “Eddie?”

“I can't carry a tune in a bucket,” Edward told her. “It'll be painful.”

“It's just for fun!” She pouted. 

“I'll do a song,” I answered, glancing quickly over the list. I liked karaoke. 

Lauren, who was really drunk, high fived me. “Yes, you will. See! You do it, too!” She pointed aggressively at Edward.

“Okay, okay,” Edward snorted at her pushiness. “Let me figure out a song first.”

“Yay!” She clapped her hands together and grinned as she got her way. Then she burped. Loudly.

“These are the classy parties you can expect running in this circle,” Tyler told me jokingly. Lauren flipped him off. He blew her kisses. “Love you, muffin.”

Lauren sang an Amy Winehouse song with one of her friends then her friend did a Meghan Trainor song. Then it was Edward's turn. He stood in front of the crowd with his tie loosened and hanging around his neck. He sang 'Sunglasses at Night'... not terribly. He wasn't in tune at all, but he had a good voice in general so with some auto-tune he wouldn't hurt anyone's ears. I had heard worse. So much worse.

Seth ran up and put his sunglasses on him. And then he became his back up singer, both yelling into the microphone. Both air guitaring it up. We all clapped and hooted for them, laughing as they bowed dramatically at the end. Then it was my turn. 

I picked Just a Girl from No doubt. I didn't need to look at the words. I was drunk enough to sing with my all my heart. In the middle of the song, I caught Edward's eyes, which were wide with surprise. He was wearing my devil horns and looked very funny. I could see little bits of red glitter dotting his face and suit. 

Lauren got up with me in the middle of the song to be my unasked for back up. I didn't mind though. We started to dance around, bouncing like it was the nineties to the music. “Ohhhhhhh,” We sang into the microphone together. “I've had it up to here!”

At the end of the song, we bowed deeply to answer their clapping and whooping. I got a couple standing ovations from Tyler and his brother who happened to be just like him. 

“I'd like to thank my useless music degree for giving me the ability to do karaoke okay at parties,” I said into the microphone. It earned another round of applause. I curtsied. 

We all did another round of drinks and songs. I did a song called Bulletproof and a Silversun Pickups song. Edward did Under Pressure with Tyler and then murdered Uptown Funk. He had to stop in the middle because he made himself laugh too much to finish. 

It was four in the morning when we finally made it back to his house. His coat was draped over me and I was carrying my shoes in one hand. I put them by the door with my camera bag to put away later. 

Edward brought me into a kiss there in a foyer. I felt dizzy in his grip, his mouth insistent. His jacket fell to the floor in the darkness. I was very drunk at that point. So was he.

“Take me to bed,” I begged him. Without a word he easily scooped me up into his arms. He was still wearing the horns.

We were asleep within the hour.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty four-

 

It was one in the afternoon when we finally woke up in bed together. Edward was quiet and sullen. I understood though. I laid my head on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat. 

“It can't be over,” he finally said. His tone was almost desperate, pleading. 

“It's not forever,” I assured him. But, I was a little scared it was. I wasn't going to tell him that though. I wondered if he had the same fears.

"It's just been so perfect. I don't want it to end." His large hand slid down my bare back, holding my body to his. "It's been like a dream, and I don't want to wake up. Or, maybe I actually died during that stupid jump, and this is my idea of heaven. I'm not sure." 

“You are such a romantic soul,” I adjusted so I could look up into his eyes, teasing him just a little bit. “It's just a couple of weeks, really. You'll barely have time to think of me anyway. I've seen your schedule for the next month.”

“I couldn't not think of you if I tried,” he brushed my hair away from my cheek and over my shoulder. 

“When you're in New York we can plan my next visit and figure out what videos you want to make when I'm here,” I encouraged him softly. “What do you want to do for your birthday? We'll do whatever you want.”

“I don't know. I'll be happy as long as I'm with you. I don't know if I want to do anything at all, honestly. Stay in bed and order food,” he said wistfully, cupping my cheek as he ran his thumb over it.

“Oh, that sounds nice. Can we do that today as well?” I asked, twisting my legs into his as I became more comfortable. 

“Yes, please.” He pulled my face to him, kissing my mouth lightly. 

I slipped into his hoodie while we ordered us some breakfast on the computer. Edward wore his basketball shorts to go make us coffee while we waited for our brunch. We relaxed by the pool with a smoke and our mugs while we waited. It was cooler that day, and it felt nice to have the wind on my legs. Edward mindlessly stroked my calves as I lounged on him in the golden California sunshine. 

After we ate, we went back to his bed where we just held each other because honestly, we were both a little hungover. I was his little spoon, feeling so warm and safe. When we finally made love, it was slow and sweet, gentle. He was such a generous lover. Everything about Edward was so intense in those moments. 

It was getting dark when we finally got out of bed to get showered. 

I put all of my clothes into the wash after and started to pack up the rest of my things. Edward watched from the spare bedroom bed with a little frown. 

"Is it okay if I leave some of my makeup and clothes here?" I asked. It made it feel like I was really coming back. "I'm not sure I can fit it all, and I'm going to come back anyway before I can wear any of this in New York. It's going to be in the thirties tomorrow when I get in. It might snow next week from what it said on the weather channel earlier." 

“Of course. And if there is anything you want, I can send it to you,” he promised from his seat on the edge of the bed. Anxiety was written all over his perfect face. I hated it. I wanted to kiss it away. Or, maybe fuck it away but I needed to be an adult right then.

All of my new makeup, accessories, shoes, and gifts I bought fit in the original suitcase that I brought with me. I kept a few of my new items in the closet but packed the rest into my big new suitcase, the makeup I was keeping there on the little spare bedroom desk. On top of my suitcase, I laid out the outfit I would wear home. I was going to have to do so many layers because my jacket was a thin one. My ticket sat on top of my outfit. There was nothing else I could do to prepare. 

I wasn’t prepared at all.

We ordered a late dinner and watched a movie in his bed. We were asleep before one, both of us tired from all that had happened in the past few days. 

It was drizzling when we woke up. It stopped before we left the house for breakfast. We sat in the airport parking lot for an hour because we were early. He tried to talk like he wasn't upset, but I could see it in his eyes. I didn't want to leave, but I was still anxious to get home. 

"I need to go inside," I finally said, looking at my phone at the time. No storms were coming to delay my flight. 

Edward took my face into his big soft hands and kissed me passionately without a word. I kissed him back, holding his hands against my cheeks. When he pulled away, I turned to kiss his palm. 

“Take me with you.”

I laughed quietly, and so did he, but he also sniffled to hold back tears. "You won't fit in my luggage, sadly." 

“I'm going to miss you terribly.”

“I'll miss you, too. We'll text. We'll call. There is always Facetime and Skype. And in no time you will be strolling through Central Park and skating at Rockefeller center with me,” I promised him.

“Maybe we can go to a Broadway show together, too.”

"Anything you want. And after the charity show, I'll have almost a full week off with you. We can do whatever you want," I said again. 

He looked down at me with such sad, beautiful green eyes. I could see the tears building at the corners. "What if I just want to spend it in your arms?" 

“Stop making it so hard to leave,” I begged.

“Never,” he grinned as he kissed me again. 

Edward helped me with my bags, and I waited to the last moment to leave him in the lobby. I promised to text him when I arrived home. 

The ticket that he purchased me was for a very nice first class non-stop to LaGuardia. I got to wait for an hour in the fancy first class lounge, sad drinking the free champagne with a plate full of snack foods from the spread they had set out. 

Jessica from Vaudevillian called while I was waiting, already on my second little plate of cheese, crackers, and cookies. “Hello?” I answered with a mouth full of chocolate chip.

“Hi, Bella! How are you?”

I swallowed, “great, thanks.”

“How was your vacation?” She questioned.

“It was perfect. I'm flying home right now. I'm actually at LAX,” I explained to her.

“Wow! That's awesome. Well, I was calling to get you to come in when you get a chance. We've finalized the spread. Can you come in on Monday or Tuesday of next week?”

The hair on my arms began to stand up as the nerves started to sink in. I really hadn’t thought about the pictures since I sent them. “I can make it in on Monday. Is it... I mean. Can I ask? How did I do? Do you like them?”

“They're great! They're exactly what we were looking for. Can you make it in at one?” She asked brightly.

“I can. I'll see you at one on Monday.” I felt a little numb.

“Fantastic. I'll see you then.” She hung up just as my flight was called. I didn't have any more time to think about what she said or my anxiety over it.

I edited pictures on the flight home and listened to crime podcasts. They didn't help when the airport was all but eerily abandoned when I arrived. Thankfully there were always taxis no matter the time of night, and I rode in the back of a yellow cab the quick fifteen minutes home. The driver sped the whole way. It was midnight when I arrived at the dark hallway on the third floor. I could barely fit myself and my things in the ancient elevator. My entire body hurt, and I was so ready for my couch. 

Alice's cat Patricia meowed when I came in. I scratched her back and petted her fluffy tail before dragging my stuff into my bedroom. I put my luggage on the bed with the intention of putting my things away later. I sat on my couch and texted Edward. 

“Finally made it.” 

“There you are,” Alice said sleepily from the doorway in her Ninja Turtle footie pajamas. “Thought you had run away from home.”

“I was considering it,” I told her as I kicked off my shoes. “I still am.”

“There's Uno's in the kitchen for you,” she leaned against the door frame. “It's pepperoni and ham.”

“Thanks. I'll have it later,” I replied numbly.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just tired. I'm going to sleep until noon tomorrow.” I rubbed my face with both of my hands roughly. My phone beeped beside me, drawing my attention. 

Alice nodded understandingly. “I'm leading a day trip tomorrow. I won't be back until late. I'm off Sunday and Monday though.”

“Okay,” I sighed with a little yawn. “I've got to go to Vaudevillian on Monday to talk to Jessica. She said she was happy with the pictures.”

“Well, that's great. You could take the month off if you wanted,” she teased me. “Hibernate for the winter.”

Alice didn't know how right she was. “I might take some time off next year, actually. For real though. I don't know. It depends. I've got so much to tell you about.”

"Sunday. We'll have a day at home, and we'll talk then," she promised me with a yawn. 

“Go to bed, You have an early morning,” I told her. “Be careful tomorrow. Take lots of pictures.”

When I was alone, I got changed into a long thermal pair of pajamas and thick socks. My blankets and pillows were already on my couch from before I left. I turned the lights off and crawled into makeshift bed with my phone. 

“Was your flight okay?” The message asked.

“It was first class. Of course, it was great,” I texted back. “Thank you. I was champagne drunk though. It makes everything seem nicer. How was your day?”

“Someone else took my picture. I didn't like it. I don't think they did it right. Come back and show them how.”

“It's just because you're salty. I'm sure they were great pictures. You're too pretty for them to be bad,” I assured him. “Be nice to the other photographers. They can't help it that they're not me.”

The screen flashed again. "I suppose you're right, but it doesn't mean I have to like it." 

I smiled a little bit to myself. “I know. I'm sorry. I'm falling asleep. I'm really tired. I'll text you later.”

“Okay. Sweet dreams, my darling.”

I didn't sleep until noon. I woke up at six in the morning. Restless, I was unable to get comfortable. The jet lag was real. Finally, I gave up and looked at my phone again. 

There was already another text from Edward that said, “oh, that's right. I forgot I was an insomniac for a moment there.” It was from an hour before. I hadn't heard the beep.

“It's amazing what that much fucking can do for your sleep,” I typed back with a smirk. I put the phone on my stomach. It instantly beeped again.

“lol, True. Why are you awake?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I answered back quickly. 

“Can I call?” He asked instead of answering. 

I called him in response. “Don't you have things to do tomorrow? Don't you have to play video games or something? It's...” I pulled my phone back to look at the time, “three something there.”

“Well, I got used to falling asleep with you in my arms. I tried going to sleep but... here I am, outside, smoking,” he complained. “What are you doing awake?”

“Just couldn't get comfortable,” I told him honestly. “I've got really bad jet lag right now. And I can hear Alice in the shower getting ready for work so I'll stay up to say goodbye to her. She's got a day trip to Amish Country. I'm going to ask her to pick me up some jam and honey, I think. Cheese, probably too. I need to go grocery shopping today. Al lives like you when I'm not around.”

“Poor girl.”

We spoke for a few more minutes as I laid on the couch under my blankets. “The sun is starting to come up. You should see it. It's beautiful,” I told him when I noticed. 

He turned his Facetime on, and I smiled into the camera. I looked pale, my nose was red, and my crazy curly hair was poking out from under my beanie that I had worn to bed because I was cold. There were dark circles under my eyes. 

“Damn, I am sexy,” I laughed as I walked over to the window. 

“You look adorable. Don't worry,” he assured me. Edward looked tired, too. 

I opened the blinds completely to show him the great view as the light began to glow behind the Manhattan skyline. There were a bunch of kids running up the block to get to school, and the grocer across from our house was sweeping up in front of the fruits and vegetable bins. It was very peaceful and pleasant. 

“What a thing to wake up to,” he mused. “It might be worth waking up early to take that ferry after all.”

"Or, we can just stay out all night. That might be the better choice," I told him. "This place isn't everything, but that view is." 

“Why don't you give me the house tour?” He asked. 

I laughed a little bit, “okay, well, it'll be pretty short. This wall is basically just the window and my window seat which is actually all my clothes,” I lifted up the seat to reveal the neatly folded fabric inside. “And, there is my bed with all my shit still on it because I was too tired to do anything about it last night. The couch that I normally sleep on, because you know, I'm an adult. My desk. And in the corner we have our musical instrument collection,” I pointed out the corner. “Which is dusty as hell at this point. I guess Alice didn't fuck around with them while I was away.”

“Do you play an instrument?” He asked in surprise. 

I hadn't even really realized it hadn't come up. I didn't like talking about myself that much though. And then I realized we had only known each other for less than a month. It felt as if he should have known everything about me already. I was instantly so comfortable around him like we had been friends forever before we started dating. I hadn’t been playing much lately and hadn’t even really thought about it.

“I play the piano and violin pretty well, the guitar and bass kinda sorta and banjo terribly because I'm a damn hipster, I guess. Alice can play the viola, bass, and piano as well. We all did music together. Rose, too. She did the flute and the piano a little, too.”

Edward was totally shocked. “Jesus, you are your own band. And you can sing, too. Wait, you said you had a degree in music, didn't you?”

“That I'm really not using. I minored in photography,” I showed him the degree from NYU on the wall. “I also studied a program at Julliard for a hot second. It was only a class for a semester.”

“Why didn't you tell me you were so accomplished?” He asked curiously. 

"Because I'm not? Lots of people study music, and some can make a living off of it. I'm not passionate enough about it to do so. Or, good enough at it," I told him truthfully. "I quickly became disillusioned of the possibility in my early early twenties.”

“Were you in a band or anything?”

“Uh...” I drew out the sound. “I guess you could say that. I was a part of a few different orchestras at different times. Mainly in school. Not like any rock bands though. I haven't been in any a few years though.”

“You'll have to play for me one day.”

“Mm, let me practice first,” I smiled as I heard Alice in the kitchen. I went through my folding doors and was greeted by a screaming cat. “This is Patricia's room,” I said I clicked on the light to the foyer. To one side was our bookshelves and one corner was sectioned off with a dressing screen. There was a series of empty shelves, a box for kitty litter, and a six-foot-tall cat tree. Patty jumped to eye level and meowed at me. 

“Oh, wow. She's loud,” he said as I showed him the cat. She was a long haired calico. 

“She's a lying ass whore who has been fed this morning. Don't yell at me, Patty Cat. I see the crumbles in your bowl,” I rubbed her chin. She purred but meowed again. 

“She's been fed!” I heard shouted from the kitchen. 

“I know,” I shouted back. “She's loud, too,” I said into the phone with a smile. 

I came into the kitchen to find Alice making herself a travel mug of hot tea with lots of honey and eating a doughnut from a white box. She was wearing blue jeans and was looking puffy from her several layers of shirts. Her short curly black hair was pulled back in a fluffy ponytail. She looked angry to be awake.

“Did I wake you?” She asked in a mumble. 

“Nope,” I answered, showing her the phone. 

“Hello,” Edward said cheerfully to her. Alice's eyes grew wide when she realized.

"Oh! Good morning!" She rushed over to stand beside me. Alice was about a half a foot taller in her heeled boots, and she hunched down, so we were in frame together. "Nice to meet you. I've heard nothing about you." 

Edward chuckled, smoke curling from his lips. “Well, I've heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, no. I'm sorry. Don't believe any of her lies,” she said dryly. 

“So, you're both like this?” He asked me seriously. 

“Ha! Yeah, we are. All three of us actually. Rosalie, too,” Alice laughed evilly. “Alright, I need to go pick up the van. I love you. Have a good day.” She kissed my cheek. “I look forward to talking about you in great detail later.”

“Hopefully good things,” he replied.

“She will tell me everything,” Al warned him. “Everything.”

“Mostly good,” I promised him. I called to Alice, “text me when you get there. I have things I want you to pick up for me!”

“Alright!”

I sat at our kitchen table with my head in my hand. “Mr. Cullen, you're going to be terrible tomorrow if you don't get a few hours of sleep. Go to bed.”

“But, you won't be there,” he sighed sadly. “Alright. You are correct, Ms. Swan. Go back to bed for a while. You look exhausted.”

“I will. I'm just going to eat the rest of this box of doughnuts first.”

I ate while listening to a podcast, having three doughnuts and a mug of tea from Alice's leftovers. As much as I wanted to go back to sleep, I was too wound up. First I decided to try to take a shower to relax, but that didn't do anything but wake me up further. I put away my clean clothes. I needed some new storage for my new makeup. 

I went to the cafe at the corner of my building for breakfast, picking up an egg sandwich and a juice. I ate as I walked to the dollar store down the block with my little rolling cart. It was surprisingly quiet. Next, I visited a couple of different small markets to pick up all the different groceries we were lacking. 

I was too anxious to relax once I got home, so I ended up doing a week's worth of meal prep for us. I froze us little lasagnas to bake whenever we wanted them, roasted some chicken for burrito bowls and chicken salad before putting the chicken bones in the pressure cooker to make broth. When it was done, I used it to make a vegetable soup. I even ended up making peanut butter cookies and a big pitcher of unsweetened tea as well. 

I had the soup for supper with a chicken salad sandwich. I played an audiobook in the background while I edited pictures. It was almost one in the morning when Alice got home. I waited for her to say goodnight before I went to bed. Before I did, I took a picture of the moon behind the Empire State Building with my phone to send to Edward to say goodnight. It was getting late, but I knew he was still up. 

He sent a picture back of Tyler, Seth, and himself sitting at the dinner table eating more Zankou's chicken with the caption, “we need you to tell us about murder.”

I smiled to myself. “I bet Seth knows the story. Get some good sleep tonight.”

I took some cold medicine to finally help me fall asleep. I slept until noon the next day. Alice came stumbling out of her room not long after. We went into her room to sit on her nicer couch, vape her weed, and order breakfast. She wanted waffles, and I didn't have the energy to make them for her. I wasn't about to turn down free food from her either. 

It was going to take an hour for our food to arrive so we had time to talk. We talked about her trip first. It was pretty uneventful in general. She waited until the second bowl of weed before she finally said, “so... tell me everything.” Al wanted to get me nice and loose before she got all the details. I knew her ways.

“I don't even know where to start,” I admitted to her.

“How? How on earth did it happen?”

I was stretched out like I was a therapist couch with my feet on her lap. “Uh... I guess we got along right away. He was just so funny and generous. And sensitive and shy-”

“He doesn't seem shy,” she seemed incredulous. 

I sighed as I considered how to explain him to her. “Edward's a good actor. And, good with people. He's got the ability to know these little details and make a person feel special when he's talking to them. But, that's genuine. He wants people to feel special. Anyway... We started flirting right away, I guess. Then on the day of the jump, I kissed him. Just a peck for luck, though.”

She wasn't entirely shocked. I had always been rather aggressive when it came to romantic relationships. “So, you kissed him out of nowhere first?”

“I actually gave this English bro a kiss on the cheek first because he asked and he was flirting with me. I think I wanted to make Edward jealous, to be honest. I mean, it wasn't on purpose at the time. Well, maybe a little. But, it worked, and he got all dramatic. So I kissed Edward on the forehead afterward." 

“Aw, how sweet,” Al said cutely.

"But, that was just in front of the cameras. When they weren't around I just... kissed him again. Quick, on the lips. I didn't even really think about it. And then we had to go to an after party that night. Well, he had to, and I went as his date because he asked me before the jump. I got pretty drunk, and we danced. God, he is such a good dancer, too. Anyway... He was pretty straightforward about his feelings that night, but I'm a doorknob, apparently. I was drunk though, to be fair. He was really sweet to me that day. He said so many kind things." 

Alice drew a long hit into her lungs, blowing it out after a second. “What did he say exactly?”

"He told me how good of a person I was and that if I kissed him, it would be an honor, but that was for a crowd. It was a little silly. I thought he was just playing it up. But, at the club, he told me he was 'fond' of me and actually offered me a job. I think he just was trying to figure out a way to make me stay a little longer." I smiled as I remembered it. I took the smoke from her, taking my own little hit before offering it back to her. She was the one doing most of the smoking. 

Alice took the vape from my hand, clicking the temperature up, so it made more smoke. "What kind of job exactly?" 

“Doing photography for his channel.”

“Wonder what that pays,” she mused.

I sighed, “I don't know, exactly. I'll tell you about that later though actually. That's a whole other thing.”

“Alright. What happened after he offered you a job?”

"Nothing. I declined, and we danced some more. We got in really late. Sundays are usually his day off if he can work it out that way, but he planned a day just for me. Eddie took me to the zoo and to the beach at sunset. Not that he would have said that he did it just for me at the time. When I was there, I was just so absorbed in him. I didn't even check the weather or read the news," I wrapped my sweater more tightly around me. "I wanted to be around him so entirely that I just zoned out. That storm snuck up on me." 

“It seemed kind of scary. There were some mudslides and flooding from what I read. I was a little bit worried for you,” Alice said thoughtfully, passing the vape back to me. 

"That wasn't really near us. He lost a bunch of ice cream from the power being out, but that's it," I explained. "A lot of wind mainly. The lightning was scary though, at points. There was a strike not too far from his house that hit a pole. Made the whole house shake." 

“So, what happened? Obviously, you didn't just stay that long because of the weather and a couple of kisses.”

"No. He asked me to stay. That morning when I was supposed to fly out he... I... we," I laughed as I thought about it, putting my arm over my eyes while taking a longer hit. "Edward came into my room really early. He's like us and not really a morning person, so I wasn't expecting a goodbye because we had them the night before. But, then he told me that he cared for me. And Jessica called, interrupting us. Told me the flight had been canceled. Since she was the one who set it all up, it forwarded the cancellation emails to her as well and I hadn't seen them yet. The flights were canceled for a couple of days, and they were booked solid a couple days after trying to catch up," I explained to her. "And... I don't know. I just jumped him, Al. I thought about it before how wanted him, but I didn't want to be his one-night stand. But, Eddie isn't that kind of guy. God, I needed that so much." 

"How was it?" She leaned in a little when she asked. I gave her back the small black vape pen. 

I chewed on the edge of my thumb. “It's probably the best sex I've ever had if I'm honest. Though it might just be that he's super fucking hot and I’m horny as hell.”

“Well,” she laughed, “it doesn't hurt. And, he's how old exactly?”

“He'll be twenty-five in a couple of weeks. On the twenty-third. Eddie wants to spend his birthday with me here,” I told her with a smile. “I made an appointment online for birth control this week.”

“What an easy birthday gift,” Alice teased. “His birthday is close to Aiden's,” she said more seriously, softly. 

“I know,” I said quietly. “He's flying in the day after probably.”

“How does that make you feel?” 

“I don't know if I can handle another Scorpio,” I joked, not really wanting to talk about that subject right then. 

Alice began typing on her phone, going to look the information up. “Actually, I think he'd be a Sagittarius.”

“You know that means literally nothing,” I teased. She shrugged and handed me back the weed. Al got a wicked little smile on her face as she thought of something.

“Is he... as big... as you feared?”

I laughed which was the reaction she wanted. "No. He's not freakishly long or anything, but he's... um... thick. I'd say meaty, but that sounds wrong. Horribly wrong." She laughed with me, "And he is uncircumcised which is new for me. But the thing is that he has figured out that I'm embarrassingly easy very quickly and now he's trying to get a new high score every night. He probably has a notebook somewhere with a tally. He’s that kind of guy.”

Alice cackled, “I am so jealous. About being that easy, mainly.”

“Girl, he is determined. It feels like a nice dirty dream," I told her as the buzzer went off for the door. She rushed off to get our breakfast. We ate and watched a show on her television as we did. After we had eaten, we settled into a long afternoon of editing pictures from our trips. We continued to talk about Edward, the money situation, and my visit with him. 

“So, what happens after Thanksgiving?” 

“I don't know,” I told her truthfully. “He'll be filming in December. I have that airline credit to go see him. And I'm doing okay right now money wise. But... I can't expect someone so young and handsome... rich, too... to stay in a long distance relationship after only know each other a couple of weeks though. Let's be honest here.”

“Hm, from what you've told me he seems like someone who likes to be in a relationship,” she didn't look up from her screen. We had our best conversations this way.

“And, that might actually be worse,” I pointed out to her. “What if he finds someone there that would be good for him? And he misses his chance because of me. A bitter old woman two thousands of miles away.”

Alice finally glanced over at me. “First, let's be clear: no one is better than you. You’re awesome. That is just your fear speaking. Don’t be stupid.”

“You're biased.”

“Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong,” she replied firmly. “You should think about the ‘what if' if it does work out. What could happen, you know?”

“It's a big if.”

“Everything is a big if,” Alice retorted shortly.

My phone beeped at me. It was just after two in the afternoon for us. It was a picture of Edward still in bed, one eye opened. The caption said 'sleeping is for suckers.' 

“You don't have to work today. Go back to bed,” I answered him back. 

“I tried.”

“Did you get any sleep?” I asked.

“Only a couple hours. I edited all last night. I'm probably just going to get up and edit all day anyway. Are you having a good day at least?” He asked back quickly. Edward was a much faster typer than I was.

“It's been alright. I've been describing our sex in great detail over waffles,” I told him, only half joking.

“lol, sounds fun. Should I be worried?”

“She’s just disappointed I don't have pictures,” I teased him.

“Next time,” Edward sent three winky faces to me. I bit my lip a little, a soft flush covering my cheeks.

“You are smiling at your phone,” Alice rolled her eyes but grinned at her laptop screen.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-five- 

 

It had been over a month a half since I had visited the Vaudevillian office. The weather was drastically different this time around. There was already a chance of snow in the following week, but it was low. It was a little early in the season, and the late heat was all but forgotten. 

Jessica invited me to her office happily, a small heater warming up the small space. All of her paperweights were lining the front of the desk in a neat little row.

“I have to tell you how excited I am about how the pictures turned out. They're amazing! I can't wait to show you what we've done,” she smiled at me, pulling out an enlarged printing of the magazine, all spread out into a book for them to map it out. First, she showed me the cover. It was Edward in the diner on the first morning, the very first picture I had taken of him. “The lighting in this one is stunning, Bella.”

“Thank you,” I didn't know what else to say. It was a little overwhelming to see it like that.

She flipped to the spread. There were short bits of writing, but it was mostly my pictures, big and bold. I could have cried right there. There were fourteen full pages of my photographs. Plus the cover. In total, I was going to get paid just five hundred short of ten thousand. It would be going into my bank account by the end of the week. 

“We would like to offer you the next spread. They live here in New York though, so it'll be easier for you,” she said as closed up the book with a little thud. “It would be in mid-December for a week for the March or April issue.”

“I'd love to,” I said excitedly. I couldn't believe I would be doing it again so soon.

"That's fantastic. Also, I have some product and model shoots if you're interested. We lost one of our in-house photographers, and we'd like to see some more of your work. We are really impressed, Bella," Jessica said genuinely. 

By the time I left, I had three photo shoots set up at Vaudevillian plus the information on my week with a Broadway star. Demetri was going to lose his mind with jealousy. But in that short meeting, I had arranged all the work I would need for the rest of the year. The years before I scrapped by on doing the odd event and photo shoot, just barely getting any magazine work plus my volunteering. After paying off so much of our debt when Aiden died there really wasn't anything else to really live on. It had been such a vast change and relief. I could focus on doing more charity work as well as getting more magazine gigs if I wanted to. 

Since I was in Manhattan, I decided to shop for a better laptop. I had been putting it off, but I could write it off as a business expense on my taxes. My computer was several years old and needed better storage. I just window shopped though. I considered checking my bank balance, but the numbers made me anxious. Even though I knew there was money in there, I couldn't bring myself to spend any of it. 

When I got home, I cried in happiness about my day to Alice. I had been so overwhelmed that the tears just flowed like rivers over my cheeks, ruining my makeup. When I finally stopped, I ate a bowl of soup and went to bed at just after five in the afternoon. I had about enough for the day. 

I slept until three the following day. 

It took me three more days to get my sleep schedule straight. Edward was suffering more than I was at the separation, unable to get back to normal sleep at all. Finally the following Sunday he took cold medicine and slept all day. The next day he would start the training for his movie, twelve hours a day, every day so it would wear him out. He had been exercising more in the hopes of tiring himself anyway, but it didn't work. 

But twelves hours was too much for even him though, and he crashed every night. 

I had to admit to myself I wasn't being responsible when it came to checking my money. For the first week I was back, I ignored it totally. I was still spending the cash from the magazine, and I had paid my bills early, I reasoned with myself. I just spent a week eating at home and updating new items on my digital store. Every time I consider checking it my chest twisted in anxiety. 

But then I got the notice that my Vaudevillian check had cleared and I had to check. 

Just from my online store from the past few weeks and the magazine, there was an additional fifteen thousand from the last time I had checked and another seven from Edward's videos. He had put up eleven total videos with me, and the jump doubled his previous highest views. All of them had over fifty million views though, at least. Most were closer to a hundred million. 

I hadn't watched any videos with myself. I felt kind of guilty about it, but they made me feel overwhelmed. I watched the ones I wasn't in, though. Just so I could see Edward. Alice watched them all for me though. So did Demetri, whom I was spending time with because of the charity show and Thanksgiving. He loved them. And he loved to tease me about them. He assured me they were good though. I hadn't even brought myself to watch the jump. I wondered if either kiss had made it in. 

Demetri was going to make me do a little singing and dancing for his variety show. I would be playing the banjo as well in front of people for the first time ever, which I would need to practice on it a lot. But, It was just one easy song. I would be doing two skits in total. So, Edward had his practice, and I had mine. We filled our time with work, and it made us both hate the time zone difference. 

We still spoke every day on the phone though. And usually texted throughout the day when we could.

It wasn't until one in the morning when we finally got some time to talk a few days into his training. It was really cold outside, and I was wearing multiple layers and laying under a couple of thick blankets. We didn't control the heat in our building, and I needed a new little heater for my room. It was completely dark, the moonlight coming through the window in long silver and gold ribbons on the hardwood floors. 

“I arranged my flight today,” Edward told me, obvious exhaustion from his day ringing in his voice and I wanted to kiss away his aches and pain. “I'll be there late on the twenty-first until the second. I don't suppose you want to come home with me?” Edward offered hopefully. 

“I'm sorry. I can't. The fifth I'm shooting and then the tenth I'm doing that spread I was telling you about.”

“That's the week of my filming as well. Then I have some Disney stuff until Christmas,” he sighed heavily. “I won't have time to fly to New York again until then.”

“Don't worry. We'll figure it out when you get here,” I promised him quietly. “Have you made a list of videos you want to try to make when you're here in New York?” I encouraged him. We had been making an imaginary one almost every evening that we could do while we were together. It always seemed to cheer him up some. Most of them were just silly or jokingly dirty.

“I don't want to make you work,” he said seriously, a little sadness in his tone.

“It's not working. And, I like doing it with you. I'll do whatever you want, though. It's your vacation,” I promised him.

“That's dangerous. What if I want to do terrible things?” He said warmly in a joking tone. 

“Promises, promises,” I teased dryly.

He chuckled before saying wistfully. “god, I miss you. I can't stop thinking about you.”

“What do you think about?” I asked softly. 

“Mm, so many things. I can't stop thinking about your laugh. Your eyes. God, and your skin. Your skin is perfection itself. I didn't get enough time to memorize every inch of it.”

I clicked my tongue. “You think you are so smooth.”

There was a little pause before he slyly said, “Am I not?”

“You are. It's just annoying,” I joked. “When you say such flowery things with such sincerity it's hard not to believe you...”

“I hope you believe that I do mean it,” he said shyly. “I adore every bit of you, truly.”

The next morning he had waffles from my favorite place sent over for Alice and myself. He also sent two dozen yellow roses. I took dozens of pictures of both, much to Edward's pleasure. In that gesture, he won Alice over before even meeting her. The girl was easy to get with food, though.

Over the next week, I kept myself busy with work, practice for the show, the gym, and preparing for Thanksgiving. My online store was doing amazingly well, and I added more to it every day. I had already done the fashion model shoot for Vaudevillian by then and sold them half a dozen pages for the January issue. I even got offered two more jobs for another magazine for in early December. I would be taking pictures for their Valentine's day issue. 

I put most of the money to the side in my savings. I created a separate account just for saving for my bills as well. I put six months of bill money in there and then arranged for the money to come out of the account automatically every month. For the first time in many years, I felt utterly secure financially. 

After I set all of that up, I had a nice little panic attack that I didn't fully understand. 

The Sunday before Thanksgiving I decided to brave the crowds and go shopping after practice. I had already bought all the food I needed for the meal and prepared some of it the day before. I had spent Saturday canning cranberry jam, freezing several pies that were to be cooked the day of Thanksgiving, and putting away my cookie dough in the fridge to age. What I needed was a present for Edward's birthday. 

I couldn't decide on one thing, so I went on the gift basket approach. First I bought Edward every sort of Drake's Cake for him to try on the channel. He loved doing the food and candy ones the most. I also bought a couple of bottles of wine that I knew he would like. They were sweet German Rieslings, his favorite. I went to a local comic book shop that had some locally made handcrafted items. I bought a fun one of his robot character and a clock with it as well. 

“Is Plex your favorite character?” The guy said with a smile as he wrapped the gifts up carefully. He was tall and thin with very little hair on his head. He was wearing a knitted ugly Star Wars sweater.

“Actually, they're for my boyfriend's birthday. I've not played this one yet,” I admitted. 

“Oh, so it's his favorite then?” He guessed.

"Um, well... I don't know about that really. He's actually worked on the game though, believe it or not. He has a big collection of stuff from the game, but this seems pretty unique. I think he'll like it," I told the cashier as I took the bag. 

The guy clearly freaked out. “Oh, that's so cool! I love the game! Is he a game dev or something?”

I was starting to feel uncomfortable. “A voice actor.”

“What?! That's even cooler! Who does he do in the game? I wonder if I'd recognize his voice.”

I realized I didn't want to say anything else, so I pointed to the bag. "He'll love these," I said again. "Thanks." I walked out of the store in a rush. 

I also bought several pieces of nice lingerie and a few new winter outfits to wear when he came into town. I wanted to look nice for him. Boots, hats, gloves, a couple of jackets even. I had my eyebrows waxed and my hair trimmed for the first time in four years. I also bought him a very nice old-fashioned shave kit when I got my hair done in the salon because I loved his freshly shaved skin. So, it was more a gift for me. The idea of watching him shave with it kind of turned me on, too. 

Edward had worked twelve hour days all week long and was spending his Sunday in a sleeping coma. It was ten in the evening when he finally messaged me for the first time that day. I had sent him a text earlier in the afternoon about how I missed talking to him.

The message he sent said. “I am counting down the seconds until I can see you again.”

“I want to hear your voice,” I typed back. A second later my phone rang. I stood from Alice's couch where I had been working, leaving my laptop in her room so I could speak to him alone on my own. 

“Hi,” I answered his call as I left her room, shutting the door behind me. 

“Hello, gorgeous.” His voice was so rich and velvety. Something about it made me feel tingly.

“So how many seconds?” I teased him, trying to act cool. 

“I'm not sure, I'd have to look on my phone. It's on a countdown clock,” he answered smoothly. “I got an app.” 

I wrapped myself up in a blanket on my couch. “I half expected you to spit out a random number.”

“You really think I'm joking? I assure you I’m not,” he teased me back sweetly. “So, what have you been up to today, my love?”

“Gym. Practice. Shopping on Fifth Avenue. Had lunch in Times Square. Watched a tourist get in a fight with a person in a Hello Kitty costume. You know, your average day in New York. Oh, I got your birthday gift. It was a productive day, at least.”

“Hello Kitty? Really?” He laughed quietly. “I don't want to know. Anyway, you don't have to get me anything. You're my present.”

“Oh, okay,” I said sarcastically. “Well, I'll just return this big bag of Victoria's Secret sitting beside me. Such a shame.”

“Let's not be too hasty now. I'm talking out of my ass. Give me presents!” He said quickly.

I laughed, “oh no. Too late.”

“No. Okay. It's fine. You look best in nothing at all, so that's fine.”

“Are you sure about that? I've got something that might make you question that,” I promised him. “I was going to take pictures for you while wearing it, but I guess I won't now. Since, you know, no presents.”

“Damn, you are so mean.”

“Aw, am I?” I mused.

“I should not get hard at the mere suggestion of dirty pictures of you,” he mumbled in annoyance at himself. “Not even that dirty. Just modeling underwear.”

“I've got to give you something fun to think about when I'm not there.”

"Oh, you've given me plenty to think about," he assured me. "You know what frustrates me most? You're too cool for that. I don't think I could get the same reaction out of you. I'm a horny idiot, and you're just... unmoved.”

“Please,” I laughed at the absurdity. “I literally jumped you because I couldn't take it anymore. Or, have you forgotten that already?”

“I might need some reminding,” he said smoothly. “Perhaps jump me again next time you see me, yeah?”

“I mean... obviously, I was planning on doing that already in my Victoria, not at all, Secrets, but you said no presents,” I deadpanned.

“Give. ME. Some fucking gifts, woman,” he said in fake anger through gritted teeth.

I laughed quietly, “ask nicely.”

"Dammit. I want to be the pervert that I am and give you the proper begging you deserve, but I have to leave my car in a second and go in public. So, I'm going to say pretty please very quickly. Yes, I will beg. I know you were joking about pictures, but I will get on my knees. On my knees, Isabella. Just to see you in whatever you have in that damn pink bag,” he said in a quiet even tone, his voice warm and deep. I loved it so much. I wish I could swim in it.

“Okay. If you beg extra hard on your knees I might let you take the pictures,” I told him in a silky voice. I wasn't going to go easy on him. “Extra extra hard.”

“Okay. Fuck. Dammit. That... Please. Yes. My darling,” he kind of half whined as I heard him rub his hand over his face. My giggling didn't do anything to help his frustration. “I have to go. I'm going to Tyler's for dinner.”

I tried to keep the sadness from filling my voice. “Tell him and Lauren hello for me. And Seth whenever you see him next.”

“I will. I'll talk to you tomorrow, darling.”

I hated that we couldn't talk longer, but I wasn't going to be that girlfriend. I just wasn't going to be jealous of his friends. "Have fun." 

I came back into the room to see Alice making a face at me. 

“What?” I asked as I picked my laptop so I could get back up to work. 

“D’Awwww...” She drew out dorkily like a freshman in high school. 

I flipped her off with both middle fingers.


End file.
